Last One Standing
by Snape's-Mystic-Raven
Summary: An alternate version to when Derek saves Stiles from the Alpha. Spoilers if you haven't seen the latest episode and don't know who the Alpha is. This is a SLASH story involving Derek/Stiles. Don't like, don't read.
1. Like Air In My Lungs

**Disclaimer:**** I, in no way, own any rights to the TV show, ****_Teen Wolf_...a small part of me wants Derek Hale and Stiles for her own though. The rest of you can have Scott. **

**Author's Note:**** Hey everybody. I am so sorry to any readers waiting on ****_Desperately__. _I fell out of inspiration fro a spell and will be trying to resume it as quickly as possible. It will get finished and has not been abandoned. Also, I was inspired for this fic out of the blue. Literally. I haven't had any drive to write lately due to a sudden tragedy within my family, but when my sister in law got me hooked on the new MTV show and I saw Stiles and Derek and their chemistry my fan-girl mind exploded. When I sifted through the debris, I found this story. Inspired from the song _Last One Standing _by Hot Chelle Rae and does contain some lyrics from the song at the end...*takes breath*...With all that said, enjoy.**

_**Last One Standing**_

The hospital had been easy to maneuver from the complete lack of staff occupying the halls. Allowing Derek to get to his Uncle's hospital room from Stiles' Jeep in record time.

Derek, at Stiles' whispered words of: _"Oh my God, I'm gonna die,"_ had put on a burst of speed as he ran through the halls. The words had been said so casually and with a finality to them that Derek's heart had paused for a full beat and his quick steps towards his Uncle's room had faltered.

Peter's little chuckle at Stiles expense had him moving again and running into the corridor the two were in within moments from the younger boy's whispered words.

Now, Derek had been taught since he was but a pup on how to use any and all abilities he had to stay alive and beat any opponent. He had used all these techniques taught to him, by his father, over the course of his life when presented with a life or death situation. Mostly due to classic hunters like the Argent family. Allowing Derek to always be prepared for anything. So when Derek came upon the scene he was ready for a fight.

However, seeing Stiles' doe-like eyes wide in terror, standing between a psychotic Nurse and his crazed Uncle, set something off inside of the Derek. Something he wasn't prepared for. Something that stemmed from just one word:

_**Rage.**_

A pure animal-like unadulterated rage filled his chest and his eyes began to bleed from meadow green to winter blue. A growl bubbled up from deep within Derek's chest, as he wolfed out. Falling from his lips, low and menacing. His wolf was not happy.

At the growl, Stile's eyes locked onto his gaze, relief and fear mixed together inside of the dark-chocolate colored orbs.

The frantic beating of the teen's heart and his eyes pleading for help, had Derek rushing forward. He came between Stiles and the Nurse, giving her a pop in the face with the back of his elbow.

She fell to the ground carelessly and would definitely wake up with a major headache and broken nose once this was all over with.

Stiles' eyes widened, holding amusement and disbelief, at what Derek had just done. He couldn't believe that the older wolf was actually there and although Stiles knew it was just to take down the Alpha, a small part inside of the young teen held onto that hope that it was because he, Stiles, was in danger. That Derek had come to Stiles rescue and not because they had spent the better part of the month trying to find the damn beast-thing in front of them.

Derek drank in the sight of the younger boys body. Tracing over every inch with his eyes and using his heightened sense of smell to see if the young man was bleeding. A small insecure little smile and a pink tinge on round cheeks, showed for the briefest of seconds on Stiles', face as he watched the older Werewolf's eyes trace over him. The exchange was broken as the Alpha's voice reminded both, teen and Beta, of his presence.

"Derek."

Both looked at the slightly-burnt but handsome man and Derek gave a low growl, "Stiles. Get down."

Not needing to be told twice, Stiles quickly slide down the wall and crawled out of the way. Praying in his mind, as he crept behind a counter, for Derek to royally kick his not-so-sick Uncle's ass.

Peter's eyes were alight with laughter and a cocky little smile was plastered on his face.

"Well isn't this just an excellent turn of events."

Derek ignored the statement and growled out, "How long were you pretending?"

"Never mind that now, what I want to know is when and how long this thing has been going on for?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The boy."

Derek didn't pretend to not know of whom his Uncle was speaking of and answered with, "What about him?"

One of Peter's eyebrows quirked up, "You haven't realized yet?"

"Realized what?" Derek asked, feigning ignorance.

Peter smiled and glanced over to the counter that Stiles was hiding behind. Deciding to play with his nephew for a little while, Peter whispered under his breath so only Derek could hear him, "Realized what a fine piece of ass he is. Look at what a tight little body that boy has, don't you think? So young and firm."

Derek's fangs lengthened out fully now and his eyes flashed in anger.

"Virginal and sweet and anyone's for the taking." His nephew's heart rate increased and another low growl echoed throughout the room.

"I bet he would be so tight and unbelievably hot wrapped around me. Crying out in pain as I take what I want from him."

Derek's breathing became labored and his claws were piercing the skin of his palms when his fists tightened.

Peter took a few slow steps towards Derek, stopping just in front of the Beta Wolf as he continued to bait his nephew.

"Just imagine it." Peter said walking around Derek in slow circles, "The boy beneath me, panting and crying out in pain as I take him. _Use_ him. His voice calling out _my _name. His pleas for me to stop and continue at the same time, falling from such lush lips."

Derek's eyes had closed and he was trying very hard to control his breathing and his rage as he imagined what his uncle was describing. The scene playing out in his mind had Derek feeling as if a thousand knives were piercing through him.

Stiles' voice crying out every time his Uncle thrust into the younger boy's body.

Stiles' eyes leaking tears.

Stiles' body taut and sweaty as he was taken.

Taken by someone who wasn't Derek.

Peter's voice drifted back to him, "I wonder how he would feel about it?"

Peter leaned in and whispered the final part right in Derek's ear, "How he would feel being corrupted by me for my pleasure. Marked by me. This boy would be mine. Stiles would be mine and there would be nothing you could do about it."

In a flash, Derek's eyes snapped open, he turned quicker than the Alpha could comprehend and he soon had his uncle pinned up against the wall by his throat. The Beta's muscles bunched under his leather jacket and he snarled, tightening his grip around the older man's throat.

The minute his uncle had said those last words and how Stiles would be his, Derek had snapped.

No one would have _**HIS **_boy.

_**HIS**_ lover.

_**HIS**_ Mate.

Hands grasped onto Derek's forearms and the Alpha growled loudly. His brown eyes bled to gold then to red and his fangs lengthened at the audacity of the Beta beneath him. Challenging him.

Peter growled long and low, the Alpha showing his displeasure at the younger Werewolf's actions, hoping to make his nephew submit.

All that resulted was Derek tightening his grip on the older man's throat and sharp claws breaking through the soft skin of the Peter's neck.

"Derek," Peter snarled, fangs showing, "Let. Me. Go."

The weaker, more submissive, part of Derek was telling him to submit to the Alpha. While his more dominant side burst forth and was snarling at him to keep the threat to his mate right where he was. His wolf was snarling inside, stating that if the threat was not neutralized then his Mate would be in danger and that...was not acceptable.

Peter struggled, he was losing his breath fast, the grip on his neck tightening. He clawed at the younger wolf's arms, causing lines of blood to start dripping from the strong forearms.

Hearing the growling and snarling had Stiles peeking over the top of his counter style fortress. His eyes widening in surprise as he he saw the Alpha pinned against the wall. Jumping up, Stiles whooped for joy and came around the front of the counter.

"That's my dog! Good boy!"

Both, Derek and Peter, growled at the affront of being likened to a common dog.

"Sorry. Jeez, I didn't think Werewolves were the sensitive type."

Peter turned his head towards the boy and smiled, a plan coming to the fore-front of the Alpha's mind. He needed a distraction. Glancing back down at Derek he smirked crudely, "Look out Derek or my Nurse's gun will make your boy's life very short."

Stiles 'eeped' and turned around quickly, looking for the gun aimed at him and hoping to dissuade woman from harming him and stopping Derek from finishing off the Alpha. When he turned, however, no one was there, just an empty hallway.

Derek had been so consumed with the threat in front of him that when Peter spoke of the nurse and her gun, he released his hold on the elder's throat and turned, ready to jump to Stiles defense.

It was all the time Peter needed.

He raked his claws down the others back and shoved him forward, as he himself, leapt backwards.

Derek's back arched and he whined in pain at the sting of claws raking down his spine.

Stiles turned back towards the duo at the sound of pained whimpers and watched in fascination as the two Werewolves circled each other, growling and snarling, before coming together in lightening quick fury.

Clothes and flesh were torn as claws and teeth made appearances in the brawl.

After catching Derek off guard with a punch to the gut, Peter pulled back and grabbed the younger Beta's shoulders. He lifted his nephew into the air and threw him across the room and into a hospital wall. A large chunk of the dry-wall broke off and pieces were falling to the ground with the large body that had hit it.

Derek fell to the floor in a heap and groaned in pain.

Not giving Derek any time to recover, Peter rushed over and grabbed Stiles left forearm, twisting it up and behind the boy. He spun them around so Stiles body faced Derek. The boy's body shielding the Alpha's body from harm. Peter raised his clawed fingers to the young teen's jugular and a cocky smirk appeared on his face.

"_Oh my God. Oh my God. OhmyGod." _Stiles chanted, as he felt the pointy claws at his throat.

"I've underestimated you, nephew."

Derek growled and rose to his feet. His right shoulder had popped out of it's socket from the force of impact. Gripping his right arm with his left hand, Derek made quick work of relocating his shoulder and rotated it around a few times to ease the minor twinge he felt. When he was satisfied, Derek moved towards Stiles and Peter, his teeth bared and eyes alight with fury.

"Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't if I were you." Peter said as he flexed his claws closer to the boys throat.

Derek stopped. Body tense and hate filling every bone of his body for the wolf he had once called family.

Peter smirked and looked between Derek and the teen in his arms.

"Seems to me that you were lying to little Scotty earlier. Speaking of his affection for the Hunter being a weakness, when in reality, it just makes you that much stronger. Doesn't it, Derek?"

A snarl reverberated through the room and Derek's ice blue eyes took in every little move and word his uncle said, while a wide-eyed Stiles was pressed up against the Alpha's chest.

"What are you talking about you crazy dog!"

Stiles squeaked, claws piercing his skin, a few drops of blood leaking out from under the nails.

Derek's nostrils flared at the smell of Stiles blood and he began to move forward once again.

"Any closer and I will tear him apart." Peter threatened.

Derek stopped moving.

Peter twisted Stiles' arm further up his back and his now golden eyes watched Derek's face as he leaned in and swiped his tongue over the young, sweaty flesh of the teenager.

_What the hell_, Stiles thought, eyes widening, "Ugh, Mr. Big scary dog, please don't lick me."

"But you taste so...delicious."

"I'll take your word for it. Uh, Derek, a little help." Brown eyes pleaded for Derek to do something, anything.

"Sorry boy, but as long as you're in my hands, he's under my control."

"The hell?...Why?"

"My nephew has always been a little slow when it comes down to matters of the heart."

"What are you talking about Fluffy?"

Peter snarled and flexed his claws, drawing more blood from the pale boy. "I'm talking about the fact that he is in love with you and wouldn't dare dream of putting you in harms way."

_Crazy ass. _"Derek Hale is so not in love with me. You need mental help dog-breath."

"Oh he _so_ is, human. Derek is a Beta. He has to submit to me by way of our culture. As an Alpha I outrank him in everything, but yet you saw with your own eyes, this lowly Beta defy me. Why do you think that is?"

"Uh..."

"It's because he's found his one. His mate. His strength. Derek may not be completely aware of it yet, but his wolf certainly is. You are his boy, whether you like it or not. Well...you would have been."

"Would've been?" Stiles whispered.

Peter chuckled, "I can't very well allow him to have you, knowing how strong you make him."

Stiles eyes widened as the implications set in. Peter Wolf was going to kill him and Derek in one fell swoop. He would die of blood loss and Derek of a broken heart. A heart Stiles hadn't even known the slightly-older-but-extremely-hot werewolf had until moments ago. Now that he knew and that he had a spot in said heart, Stiles wasn't going to go down without a fight.

"Well, shit, if you're going to do what I think you're going to do, do you mind if I ask you a question first?"

Slightly curious, Peter nodded his ascent.

"Do you find me attractive?"

Peter's brow drew together in confusion and Stiles lifted his leg, kicking back. _Right in the family jewels, nice one Stiles, _he congratulated himself as the hand on his throat and the one holding his arm let go of him and the Alpha doubled over.

Stiles quickly moved out of the way and yelled to Derek, "Get him boy! Sick him, Derek!"

As soon as Stiles was out of the way, Derek rushed forward and tackled Peter into the hospital room behind him. The door was kicked shut behind the two wolves and Stiles was left outside the room, wincing every time he heard a yowl of pain. He didn't know if it was Derek's or the Alpha's but the fact that it sounded painful still made him twitch uncomfortably.

It seemed like hours before the door opened again, but in reality it was only minutes. Stiles eyes watched the doorway anxiously until a tall, dark, and handsome Werewolf emerged.

Derek was bloody, sweaty, and scratched the fuck up, but alive.

"Thank God! Damn Hale, I thought I was gonna be that wolf's lunch or sex-slave or-"

Derek rushed forward, smashing his lips to the younger male's, effectively shutting him.

Stiles stood stock still while the Werewolf plundered his mouth like he was searching for gold. _Apparently, _Stiles thought_, the Alpha wasn't kidding when he said Derek was hot for me. _Growling, Derek pulled him closer and nipped at his bottom lip, the spunky teen got the message and kissed Derek back for all he was worth.

They kissed and bit and clutched each other desperately as their hearts collided.

Derek pulled back his eyes, back to their normal forest green, searched the smaller male's eyes. The dark brown eyes were filled with fire, lust, and love. It made Derek's knees go weak, well that and the blood loss. Derek fell to the ground clutching Stiles, bringing both to their knees on the hospital floor.

"Whoa. Didn't know I had that kind of effect on you Hale." A cocky smirk followed the statement and Derek groaned.

"So...I'm your mate, huh?" Stiles whispered.

"Stiles..."

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"The hell? I help you take down the Alpha by taking out his 'boys' and you tell me to shut up. Nice Derek, real nice. Damn ungrateful wolves. Why I care so much about you guys is beyond me. I should find a nice girl and settle down with-"

Derek growled at the mention of another, eyes flashing blue for the briefest of moments as he cut the teen off, "Stiles?"

"What?" Stiles glared at the wolf before his lips were taken in another kiss. This one slow and long.

They didn't pull apart until Derek heard footsteps running through the hospital.

"Scott." Was all he said before he stood up and pulled Stiles up with him.

Derek made to move down the hallway, but Stiles hand still held his own firmly, stopping him in his tracks.

"Stiles?"

"Before we go back out there, into the real world, I need to know. Am I really your mate? Was that all true?" Doe eyes searched green.

Derek's eyes never strayed from his, "Yes."

"How can you be so sure?" Insecure, Stiles asked, his eyes drifting towards the ground.

Derek placed a calloused finger under Stiles chin and lifted his face so their eyes were once again locked.

"When I saw you in danger Stiles, I could barely breathe. The thought that I might lose you was unimaginable. I realized that when I saw you here tonight. With Peter's claws at your throat. The possibility that you could be taken from me, playing out right before my eyes, showed me that I need you Stiles. I need you like I need the air in my lungs. This...this feeling, it tears through my bones and swims in my veins. It's like Peter said, you make me stronger and I will always have the strength to fight because you, Stiles, are worth fighting for."

Stiles pushed Derek away and swiped at his eyes, "Damn sappy Werewolf."

Derek smiled and grabbed up Stiles hand, yanking him forward and out into the hospital corridors, towards were Scott was looking for them.

**As always, Reviews welcome, but not mandatory. :)**


	2. I'm Not Hiding

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ **I, in no way, own any part of the tv show _TEEN WOLF_. I have, however, had a wonderful dream about Tyler Hoechlin that I wish would come true.**

**A/N: Was thinking and I thought this one-shot had the potential for a ch. fic and so I am going for it. It will only be a few chapters, maybe 5 or 6, but who knows with me. Anyways...hopefully, enjoy.**

Sheriff John Stillinski had been peacefully sleeping in his nice big King size bed, dreaming that he was on a deserted island with Milla Jovovich. Swinging in a hammock, under the shade of two palm trees and the hot sun beating down on them as he held her close and drank a beer. She moved against him, wrapping one of her deliciously long legs around one of his and leaned up to to whisper in his ear. However, instead of sweet nothings, he heard the ear piercing wail of a phone.

His cell phone to be exact.

Groaning and covering his head with his pillow, John reached out blindly and grabbed the offending object.

"Stillinski." It was his Deputy. The voice on the other end of the line became slightly hysterical as he explained the situation. John sprang up in bed. His pillow falling to the floor, forgotten, as he listened to his deputy's voice on the other end.

"I'll be right there."

He hung up and ran a hand over his face, "Just what I need, another fucking murder."

Getting out of his bed, he headed to his bathroom and made quick work of showering, shaving, and brushing his teeth. Moving back into his bedroom, he grabbed his clean and pressed uniform from the back of his door where Stiles had hung it.

Donning the tan uniform and standard issue boots, John grabbed his badge, gun, and keys from inside his side table and made sure his gun was secured in his holster before leaving the room.

Walking the short distance down the hallway to Stiles' door and knocked lightly on the wood, "Hey kid."

A groan, then a yelp, followed by shuffling, and a thump, made it to John's ears and his brow drew together in worry, "Stiles?"

His hand clamped over the door knob and he turned it, "Stiles? You okay? What was that thump?"

Stiles was sitting up in his bed, his eyes wide, alert, his face was slightly pale as he looked at his father, "Thump? What thump?"

"Stiles." John gave his son a _'look'_.

"Thump, thump, thump..._oh_!," Stiles rolled off the bed and fell to the floor, "...that thump? Was that the thump you heard? Cause if it was, then it was just me falling out of bed after having my beautiful slumber being disturbed by someone knocking on my bedroom door at..." Stiles glanced at his bedside clock, "five-twenty-six in the very obvious crack of dawn."

John rolled his eyes, "Point. I just came in to tell you I was called in early and probably won't be home till late."

Stiles fiddled with his comforter, "What else is new."

"Stiles..." John sighed and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the oak door, "Not now, please. I was just called in on another animal attack/murder down at the hospital and I really don't ned the guilt trip."

Stiles' face morphed into the kicked puppy look he had mastered at age seven and he sniffled. John sighed, "Listen, maybe if I get this whole thing squared away I can take a few days off and we can go camping. Just you and me, okay?"

Stiles looked up at his dad in surprise, "Really?"

Stillinski Sr. smiled back at his son, "Yeah, Stiles, really."

Stiles licked his lips and glanced towards the open window that Derek had moments ago jumped out of, "Can I...maybe, invite a friend?"

Surprise came over John's face before a smirk took it's place, "A friend or a _friend_?" he asked.

"A...ah, a _friend_." Stiles eyes glanced from the comforter he was playing with, to the window, to his dad's face, and back again. His cheeks tinged slightly with pink.

"Sure. That'd be fine, but she's sleeping in your tent and you're sharing mine, that understood?"

"Um, well, you see, she's not..." Stiles stopped, let out a breath and looked his dad square in the eye, "She's not a _she_."

"Not a..." John's look of surprise had Stiles' eyes drifting down to the floor and his son's hand running through his short hair, a nervous habit.

"I knew I shouldn't have-"

"That's fine, Stiles, really. I was just a little surprised. I mean, what about that Martin girl you were so hung up on?"

"I still love her-" a sound, not unlike a dog growling, filtered into the room through the open window.

"What was that noise?"

"Nothing! Uh, my stomach, you know how hungry I am in the mornings."

"So what about that girl you-"

Interrupting his father before he could finish that sentence, Stiles shouted, " LIKE A FRIEND! A friend, that's all."

"Hm. Okay, well I want to meet this guy before we go camping. Invite him over for dinner tomorrow night and we can get to know each other. I'll show him my gun collection."

Stiles groaned and thumped his head on his bed, "Dad."

"Just sayin'. So how long have you and..." John paused and motioned his hand for Stiles to fill in the blank. When all he got was a wide eyed innocent look from his son he continued on, "How long have you guys been dating without tellin' your dear old dad?"

"Um, about fifteen hours give or take." Stiles said sheepishly.

"Fifteen hours? You've only known this guy for fifteen hours! How do you even know he's a good guy? He could be a criminal, a murderer, a psychotic animal with a hunger for young teens!" John finished his mini rant and saw Stiles' face twitching, his lip quirking up and a snort escaping from him. He was trying to hold in his laughter, John realized.

"What's so funny kid?" Anger laced his voice.

Stiles coughed to hide the slight giggle that escaped, "Nothing. Nothing Dad, sorry, it's just we started...dating fifteen hours ago, but we've actually known each other for awhile."

"It's not Scott is it?"

"Ew! Dad, no!" Stiles cringed, "Dude, he's like... my brother. Seriously, gross!"

"Sorry, sorry," John threw his hands up in the air defensively, "So you gonna tell me his name or do I have to go to your school and interrogate every male there till I find-"

John's cell phone blared to life and they both knew it was his Deputy calling to see why he wasn't at the hospital yet. "You're needed Batman." Stiles said, having been saved by the bell. Hm, _I wonder what ever happened to Tiffani-Amber Thiessen_, he thought with a smile on his face.

He was brought back by his father stating, "This conversation's not over."

John smiled at Stiles before turning and walking out of Stiles' room. He answered his phone with a clipped, "Stillinski."

Stiles could hear his Dad reassuring his deputy that he was on his way, as he walked down the hallway and then stairs.

He got up from the floor. The front door open and close, his Dad's cruiser start up and then pull away from the house. Sirens blaring.

Not a second after his father's cruiser left, he felt arms of steel wrap around his waist and a voice growl in his ear, "It better only be as friends Stiles cause **I.** **Don't._ Share._**"

Stiles stiffened, not yet used to the Werewolf being so...touchy feel-y. Derek placed a couple of kisses just under the shell of Stiles left ear and smirked into the soft skin. The younger teen moaned and sagged against the broad chest behind.

"Derek?"

"Hm." Derek moaned into Stiles' skin as he continued to kiss and suck at the pale throat.

"You heard everything right?" Stiles placed one hand on Derek's forearm and the other twisted back to grab the back of Derek's head as the Wolf nibbled on his throat. He figured he'd enjoy this before the now Alpha, _his-mate-is-a-totally-hot-Werewolf-Alpha-take-that-girls-who-ignored-me-my-whole-life_, remembered the rest of the father and son conversation.

"Yes."

It was a few very pleasurable minutes for Stiles before the mouth on his neck stilled and he was turned to face Derek's unreadable face. Forest green eyes probed the dark chocolate colored doe eyes of the younger male.

"Does this mean you're not ashamed of me? Of this?" Derek question, gesturing between the two.

"Dude, what? Why would I be?"

"Cause I _**am**_ all those things that you're father said. A criminal, a murderer, an animal."

"Okay. First off..." Stiles punched the Werewolf in the shoulder.

Derek growled, "What was that for?"

"Calling yourself all those names was one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. You know it's a good thing you're pretty."

Derek gave him a bewildered look, "Excuse-?"

"Not done!" Stiles interrupted, raising his finger to the ceiling. Derek growled and then crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look intimidating.

Stiles ignored him and ticked off reasons on his fingers for why Derek was wrong, "One, you are not a criminal. Have you ever stolen anything in your life?"

Derek smirked and turned sappy eyes to Stiles, "Besides your heart, no."

"Oh my God, no, bad Derek. That was awful." Stiles said, but couldn't help smiling at the cheesy chick flick line. "See, then you can scratch criminal off the list. Next, Murderer. As far as I know, you've only killed one person and that was in defense of your extremely attractive and charismatically adorable mate-to-be. Totally counts as self defense dude."

Derek dropped his arms from his sides and moved forward, placing them on Stiles' hips, "What about the animal part? Truer words. I am one of the most dangerous animals out there Stiles and I could hurt you."

Stiles wound his arms around Derek's neck, "I could probably hurt you just as much as you could hurt me, well, emotionally, at least. As for the teeth and claws part, well, I'm looking forward to when that part of our...courtship, mate-ship, or relationship, whatever, comes to that. Judging by what happened last night at the hospital though, I doubt that you'd really cause me any type of physical damage."

Stiles finished and Derek pulled his boy closer to him, holding him tightly while nuzzling at Stiles neck, "Thank you." It was a whisper of words that Stiles didn't think he'd ever hear from the Alpha and it made him smile.

They held each other, both savoring the feeling of being close, until Stiles remembered where his dad had gone too and became worried, "Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"What if they find something at the hospital to tie us to your Uncle's death? What if they find out what he was and they come after you cause you guys were family and then they get an angry mob together and hunt us down and when we're cornered they'll grab us and tear us apart. They'll take you for experimentation and torture me to get you to give up all kinds of Werewolf information or they could kill me and-" His mate's heartbeat was going wild as his imagination ran away, so Derek cut him off with a harsh kiss.

It probably wasn't the best idea he had considering kissing wouldn't exactly let Stiles have the breath he needed after that long tirade, but the more Stiles talked, the angrier he got. Just the thought, mention, of Stiles going through all of that left him angry and filled with rage that anyone would do those things. It was just like when he had faced all the horrible things Peter had said in the hospital. All the emotions he had felt then came rushing back and he held Stiles impossibly closer as he plundered his young mate's mouth.

When Stiles' heart-beat became more erratic for lust instead of fear, Derek slowed the kiss down. He pulled away, leaving pecks on the corners of his boy's mouth, then his cheek, then down his neck, before moving back up to his mouth. Placing one last kiss on the slightly swollen lips.

"Now who's being dumb. You know I won't let any of that happen. I'd kidnap you first." Derek slipped his hands under the t-shirt Stiles wore and rubbed small soothing circles on his boy's hips with his thumbs.

Stiles had calmed down with the mini make-out session and was a little peeved when he had been called dumb afterward, but got rightfully pissed at the kidnap remark. "You'd kidnap me? The hell? What about my dad and Scott? What would happen to them? Scott has barely even scratched the surface of getting this wolf thing under control and I'm all my dad has left. Am I supposed to just up and run away with my Werewolf lover into the sunset and lea-

"Stiles!"

"What?" Stiles pulled his arms from around Derek's neck and crossed them over his chest.

"I wouldn't take you away from your father or abandon Scott. You'd still be able to contact them through various means and I'd try to help him best I could from where we would be hiding, but yes, I would kidnap you. You are my first priority now and if there was even a remote chance of any of those scenarios you babbled on about happening, I would take you and get the hell out of dodge."

"Really?"

"Yes, Stiles, really."

Stiles unfolded his arms and placed them back on Derek's shoulders, he leaned in and gave the older male a chaste kiss. "Sorry, I overreacted."

Smiling Derek said, "I wouldn't expect anything less. Now it's,"- Green yes glanced at the bedside clock- "almost six. Just about time for you to get up and ready for school. How about you go take a shower and I'll prepare your usual bowl of coma inducing sugar cereal."

"Sounds good. Although it does leave me with the problem of who's going to wash my back if you're downstairs playing housewife. I guess I could call Scott or maybe Lydia and see if they'd be able to come over and help me." Stiles said as he moved from Derek's grasp and towards the bathroom.

A snarl reverberated through the room and Stiles ran inside the bathroom, followed by Derek, who slammed the door after him. Chasing his young mate inside. A laugh and a growl both sounded in the room before being covered by the sound of running water.


	3. Keeps Me Fighting

**DISCLAIMER: I no own Teen Wolf, nor am I making any money off this story.**

**And so begins Chapter 3...Enjoy! :)**

"Stiles!" Scott called, running up to his best friend, hoping to catch him before his next class.

Stiles put his Physics and Advanced Calculus books back in his locker and pulled out his World History book, "Hey Scott. What's up?"

"Dude, what's with you and Derek? Are you guys best friends now or what? You guys were all secretive and smiley at the hospital and you both left together and this morning I saw you get out of his Camaro. Mix in that I can hardly smell your scent at all, it's been completely dominated by Derek's." Scott whispered, confusion drawing his brows together.

"Scott...Derek's been staying with me the past couple nights, you know that. Of course we'll be leaving the hospital together. He's pretty much dominated my whole room, I'd smell like you too if you stayed at my house for a week straight." Stiles flicked Scott on the forehead and rolled his eyes.

"What about your scent? Why can't I smell you?...At _all!_ I would be able to smell at least a little of you, but I can't and it's confusing me."

"Scott, I'm flattered. How often do you sniff in the wonderful aroma that is moi?...Wait, Scott, you don't have a crush on me do you?...Dude, that's sweet, but sad to say you're not my type." Stiles smirked at Scott's annoyance.

"Stiles, why are you covered in Derek's scent?" Scott whined-growled in exasperation.

Stiles opened and then closed his mouth quickly. _What would be the harm in telling Scott about the mate thing? I mean it's not __like he won't find out eventually. Derek will have to tell Scott all of the Werewolf secrets and lore sooner or later, so he supposed it was okay to let this one slip, right?, _Stiles thought. He took a breath and rushed out as quickly as possible, "Okay, well, you see...um, _I'mkindofDerek'smate_. So yeah, I'll see you after school. Gotta go, bye!"

He turned and tried to move down the hall, but Scott grabbed his forearm quicker than he could blink and held him so he couldn't escape. Scott's eyes had turned golden and his canines had elongated, just appearing beneath his curled lip. Stiles studied his friends face and knew he wouldn't be going to his next class until he told Scott the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him Derek.

Stiles stood there, his arm in pain and probably going to bruise from the strength Scott was using to keep him from bolting. The final bell rang and most of the students still lingering in the hallway quickly moved to make it to their next class. When the hallway was completely cleared of students, Scott growled and pushed Stiles up against the locker. The metal hitting against his back made him wince and he scowled at Scott. "The hell Scott!"

"Tell me I heard you wrong." Scott growled, as he got right up in Stiles' face. "_Mate? _How in the hell?...You better explain!"

"Dude, personal bubble!" Stiles attempted to push the Beta back, but to no avail. Golden eyes pierced his and he had a feeling that after he told his best-friend everything there was a possibility it wasn't going to end well.

Stiles closed his eyes, sighed and started at the beginning. "Okay. So you know the other day at the hospital when Derek and I found out who the Alpha was?"

"Yes." Scott's eyes narrowed. Hopefully he'd get the full story out of the teen now, considering on the night, Stiles and Derek had both been very tight lipped about the fight. All they had said was that the Alpha was gone and that was that.

Killed by Derek. Never to return.

"Well, I went to Peter's room and was kind of ambushed by him and his psychotic booty call nurse. They had me stuck in between them when Derek came out of nowhere and popped the nurse in the face. Then I went and in a very-manly like way, hid behind one of the counters. I could hear some whispering and Derek growling, but then there was this loud slam and terrifying snarling. When I looked over the side of the counter, Derek had the Big Bad Wolf pinned up against the wall by his throat. It was just a minute later that Peter distracted Derek enough for him to get free. Then there was this awesome knockout, drag-down fight, until Derek was thrown across the room. The next thing I knew, Peter had his claws at my throat and a completely wolfed out and snarling Derek in front of us."

Stiles took a breath.

Scott's eyes dimmed and were now more of a honey brown in color. "I knew I missed a good fight."

"Yeah, it was awesome. Bro's before Hoe's next time, dude."

Scott snarled and his eyes returned to the deep gold color. He grabbed Stiles by the shoulders and slammed him up against the lockers again. His claws pierced through Stiles' flannel and t-shirt, latching onto the soft flesh underneath.

"Shit, man! Scott, that hurts!"

"Don't call her that again. Understand me." Claws continued to pierce his skin and Stiles recognized the silent threat hanging in the air.

"Sorry. Dude, claws, claws! Retract, retract!"

The claws piercing his skin went away at his words, but Scott's face stayed twisted in anger. Something dripped down his back and Stiles knew he was bleeding from the wolf's claws.

"Do. _You_. Understand." Scott growled out each word. Making sure Stiles knew he wouldn't tolerate another slip-up.

"Yes." Stiles turned his eyes away from his friends piercing stare and looked down the empty hall. Cursing Allison in his head for what seemed like the umpteenth time since his friend had met her.

"What else happened at the hospital?"

"Nothing. Derek saved me and killed Peter. Nothing else. The end."

"I can tell when you're lying, remember? Finish it. What about this mate crap?"

"If you're going to keep me pinned against the lockers I'm not going to tell you anything."

A growl reverberated through the hall, but Scott let go of Stiles' shoulders and stepped back. "So, what else happened?"

Stiles looked back up at Scott and reluctantly continued on, hoping that he didn't get assaulted again, "Yeah, well, Peter had me by the throat, claws ready to do serious damage, when I kicked back and hit him in the puppies."

"The puppies?"

"The jewels, cojones, berries, nuts, the stones, man-marbles...His boys! Scott, seriously." Stiles rolled his eyes and wondered how his friend was that...clueless. "Anyways, I kicked him where it counts and the overwhelming pain he felt from my totally awesome back-kick had him doubled over in pain. He let me go and Derek turned into the rabid beast he is and did what any good mate would do and took out the threat."

"Get to that part, the mate part. What's up with that?"

Stiles took another breath and just told him what Derek had told him that night after they had gotten back from the hospital. "Did you know that apparently all Werewolves have one person in the world who was made to fit the other half of their soul. Only one person can fill that certain void, that all Werewolves feel. They may take lovers or mate with someone whose pheromones closely resemble that of the Wolf's true mate, but they still aren't the true mate of that Wolf. Only a handful of Wolves, both born and made, find that one, their true mate and well, apparently...I was chosen for Derek." Stiles shrugged his shoulders and looked at Scott. "Go figure."

The Beta's face would have been unreadable except for the golden eyes and sharp canines.

Yeah, Scott was pissed. Although Stiles had no idea why. It wasn't his virginity that was in danger of eventually being taken by an extremely dominant hot werewolf with emotional constipation.

Stiles started to inch along the row of lockers cautiously, "So now that you know I'm just gonna leave you to process that and...yeah, so, bye!"

Stiles turned and ran as fast as he could through the school and into the parking lot. He looked for his blue Jeep and then cursed when he remembered that Derek had dropped him off that morning.

So he hoofed it.

He ran through the lot and headed through the woods across the street. He didn't hear anyone behind him and was glad for it. Even if Scott was pissed at the news he'd have to get used to it. _Hell,_ Stiles thought, _I'm still getting used to it_. Stiles was Derek's mate and no-one could change that if they wanted to. Derek had so much as told him that. Derek would be forever bound to him no matter what and anyone else who took an interest in him would more than likely have to face the Alpha mono-e-mono.

Stiles slowed to a jog, then a brisk walk, as he made his way through the woods and towards his house. Growing up here his whole life did have certain advantages, like knowing how to maneuver through the woods without getting lost like some tourist who came down to see the leaves change.

He came upon a giant old Oak tree and took a right at it. His home wasn't very far now, just a few more minutes and he would be safely inside his nice warm wolf free house. The two-story farm house came into view and Stiles smiled, _there's no place like home. _He pulled his keys from his pocket and opened the front door. He raided the fridge for a Sunny-D and then took the stairs two at a time to get up to his room. He put the Sunny-D on his desk and slide his back-pack off. There were two marks in the strap where two of Scott's claws had gone through, instead of his skin.

Stiles sighed and decided to see what kind of damage had been done. He took off his flannel and then his t-shirt. His shirt stuck to his skin where the blood had dried and he winced when it pulled free. His shoulders were going to be tender for awhile. Stiles moved to the bathroom and turned his back to face the mirror. His back was red where it had knocked against the lockers and the marks on his shoulders had short lines of blood going down an inch or so from the wounds. He groaned and ran his hand over his face, _Aw man, Derek is gonna flip!_

_Unless he doesn't find out, _whispered the little voice inside his head. Stiles turned and grabbed the hand towel hanging by his sink. He ran some cold tap water over just the corner of the towel and turned his back once again to the mirror. Reaching over his shoulder, he dabbed at one of the cuts and grimaced at the slight sting. He wondered how much of this he could get cleaned up before-

"STILES?"

The younger man jumped at the sound of Derek's voice booming from his room and quickly left the bathroom, coming face to face with green eyed man.

_Damn Ninja Werewolves._

"Hey Derek, uh how's it going? Kill any deer today?"

Derek rolled his eyes, "Ha…Why weren't you at school? I went 'round to pick you up and while I was waiting I caught your scent heading into the woods. You could have called...me to..." Derek broke off and closed his eyes, taking in a big breath through his nose. His eyes shot open and they were the bluest Stiles had ever seen them, along with slight tints of red that outlined just the outside the irises. The older man closed the distance between them and gathered the younger man in his arms.

"What happened? You're bleeding I can smell it." Derek's eyes bore daggers into Stiles'.

Stiles swallowed nervously before getting out, "Well, hello to you too. I don't even get a proper greeting. How's that for being a good mate-" Rough lips stopped the tirade from the talkative teen before he could continue. Stiles melted against Derek as his mouth worked it's magic over him. Stiles didn't know if it was this mate thing or a Derek thing, but man did the Werewolf's kisses really make him weak in the knees.

Derek pulled away, his eyes had only hints of the ice blue they had had before and he smiled down at Stiles. Whose eyes were closed and mouth was still puckered up and moving against the air, like Derek hadn't moved away. Derek chuckled and kissed the tip of Stiles' nose. The younger man's eyes opened slowly and his cheeks tinged pink when he realized his mouth had been moving of it's own accord. "Oh, Hey there."

Derek laughed and drew Stiles back into his embrace, he hugged the younger teen close and kissed the side of his head. The scent of blood was stronger now and Derek glanced down at his mate's back, only to see the lines of blood and claw marks. His hold became like steel as he saw wounds on his boy's beautiful back.

"Derek...can't...breathe...oxygen..."

As calmly as Derek could manage, he relaxed his hold on Stiles' and asked, "Stiles, what happened? I can smell Scott all over you. Did he do this?"

Stiles stiffened and the dark haired man pulled away, looking intently at Stiles, waiting for an answer.

"Promise you won't kill him."

Derek's ice colored eyes stared down into chocolate brown, not about to promise something that he might not be able to keep. "I...promise I won't injure anything vital."

Stiles let out a snort of amusement realizing that this was probably the best promise he'd get, "Scott stopped me in the halls at school and asked me about…well, everything. When I told him what happened, he got...he got a little paw-sy, no big deal."

Derek growled.

"Really, Derek, it's no big deal. In a couple days my shoulders will be good as new. Don't worry about it."

"Stiles, you know this is_ 'no big deal'_. We have laws and Scott broke the most important of them all and he needs to be punished for his transgression."

"Woah, wait, broke a law? What law? I didn't realize there was a no-pushing-Stiles-around-law cause if so, about half of Beacon Hills, including you, should be in jail." Stiles pushed at Derek's chest as he yelled, backing the older wolf into the corner of his room.

Derek's eyes widened with every shove from his mate as the words hit home because once again, Stiles was right. Derek was probably one of the worst offenders of pushing around the quirky teen. Derek leaned against the wall and his shoulders drooped as he looked at Stiles' angry face, he sighed out an, "I know."

"You can't just- wait, what? You know?" Stiles asked bewildered.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry for that. I know it's no excuse, but from the moment I saw you, when you and Scott were looking for his inhaler, I knew who you were to me. Both sides of me, knew. I tried to ignore it, but the wolf never did. All the teasing and rough-handling was just me trying to soothe the wolf's need for nearness and my own anger at the fact that it was you who was my mate."

"You were angry that I'm your mate?" Stiles seemed to fold into himself as he spoke the words. His eyes wide, starting to water slightly.

"_**Was!**_ Stiles, _was_ angry, past tense. I'm not anymore because I realized I wanted you just as much as the wolf did."

"No. You don't want me. Not me, Stiles. You were manipulated into it."

"No, Stiles," Derek sighed, "It may have started out as that, I won't lie, not to you, but now…now it's me, Derek Hale, who loves you."

"No it's not. It's just this Werewolf thing." Stiles said dejectedly and moved away from the elder.

Derek rushed forward and grabbed his boy in his arms. Stiles tried for a half a second to push the wolf away, before dropping his arms to the side and closing his eyes. He tried to contain them, but two tears fell down his cheeks and his hands balled into fists.

"No. It's you, Stiles." Derek whispered in his boy's ear, "It's all you. Your smile, laugh, ADHD, big brown eyes, impulsiveness, brains, it's your…it's your, everything." Derek pulled back and saw that Stiles' eyes were still closed, "Stiles, please, let me see your eyes."

Stiles didn't relax, he couldn't, the words Derek was saying, were just that, words. He just wanted Stiles not to feel guilty about having been saddled with and eccentric, crazy teen. He stayed tense but opened his eyes and looked Derek square in the eye. His eyes narrowed with anger and hurt.

When Derek had the young man's brown eyes looking into his, he never looked away as he spoke, "I need you to let everything swimming around in that big brain of yours to stop and just focus on my words Stiles. Please just…listen to me. That may have been how it started, but that's not how it is now. I got to know _you_, Stiles. I fell in love with _you_ for who _you_ are. I love you, Stiles. You are everything to me now because you are you. Not because of any supernatural pull. It's just you. It'll always just be you."

Stiles' drew his brow together and his eyes narrowed questioningly, "You mean that?"

"I swear, Stiles. Every single word of it." Brown eyes probed green and Stiles relaxed when he saw only earnest honesty in the Wolf's gaze.

"Good." Stiles smiled and gave his werewolf a quick peck on the lips before hugging him just as tight as Derek was holding him.

They stood there for a few moments, just holding each other, before Derek pulled back and gave Stiles one of his rare genuinely happy smiles. "Let's get your back cleaned up and get you into bed."

"Derek we may be destined for each other but that does not mean I'm easy. You have to work for it just like everyone else." Stiles admonished, as he moved from Derek's embrace and headed back into the bathroom. "Come on boy, let's clean up my back."

Derek snorted and rolled his eyes, but followed after Stiles obediently.

Scott was in his room, working on his Algebra homework when he heard the howl of Derek, just outside his window. He got up quickly and opened his window and gazed out into the trees across the way. There, between two big Bur trees, he could see two electric blue dots peering up at his window. The eyes disappeared as another howl sounded and Scott knew he couldn't disobey the howls of his new Alpha.

He went through his window and jumped off of the roof, heading in the direction he could smell Derek had gone. He ran for awhile before he came into an empty clearing. Scott sniffed the air and followed Derek's scent to the middle of the clearing before his smell just faded away, as if Derek had disappeared in midair.

"Derek?" Scott whispered, "Derek come on, what do you want I have stuff—agh!"

Scott screamed as he was grabbed from behind by his shoulders and thrown across the field. He rolled a few times before coming to a stop on his stomach. He groaned and pushed up on his elbows and looked up at the figure standing several yards away. Derek was standing up straight, his white shirt pulled taught over straining muscles and his once green gaze were now electric blue. A cold stare met Scott, a stare that when transfixed on you could terrify your very soul. His face was halfway between transforming and his lips had curled over his canines in a rabid-dog like snarl.

Scott's eyes widened and his heart rate kicked up when he saw how pissed his Alpha was. He quickly got to his feet and in a fighting stance. He wasn't sure what he had done to piss off Derek this time, but he knew he probably didn't deserve it.

"What the hell man? What did I do now?"

Derek's lip curled up higher at the audacity of such a question. "You broke a law."

Scott's brow drew together in confusion, "What are you talking about? What Law?"

"Clueless!" Derek snarled and rushed the young Beta. Scott's eyes bled gold and he wolfed out as he went head on with Derek, rushing forward to meet him in a clash of testosterone.

Derek leaned down, as Scott stayed upright and the older man shouldered the younger in the ribs. Lifting and running with the teen in his arms, he rammed the younger man into a big Oak tree on the outside of field.

Scott's claws scraped up Derek's back and he growled as the bigger man slammed him against something hard. The Beta lost his breath and groaned in pain as Derek pulled back and rammed him three more times into the tree behind him.

The Oak's trunk fractured with every hit.

Derek released the Beta and took two steps back. Scott crumpled to the ground in pain and put an arm over his ribs, he was breathing hard and his eyes and face had reverted back to normal.

Scott was breathing harshly and winced as he tried to get up unsuccessfully. "Damn."

Derek stood above him, "Scott."

The teen looked up to see piercing blue eyes trained down on him, but other than that a normal looking Derek was staring him down. "Do you know what you did?"

Scott opened his mouth, a smart remark on the tip of his tongue when Derek growled low and he added, "Think hard before you piss me off even further."

Scott scowled up at Derek as his mind raced through anything that he could have done that would have pissed Derek off. Hell, him just breathing pissed the Alpha off, put that together with Stiles and him always getting in the way and..."_Oh!_"

"Figured it out then?"

Scott slowly pushed himself up to a standing position, his ribs protesting the movement and he leaned against the tree.

"I can't believe this is because of Stiles and that whole mate thing you've made up!" Scott yelled at the Alpha.

Derek growled and grabbed Scott by his throat so quickly, that even Scott's wolf sight had trouble catching the movement. "I didn't make up anything. Stiles _is _my mate. If you actually stuck around long enough to learn about your new heritage than you would know all about mates and the differences between finding your true mate and potential mates."

"I don't believe you! This is just some twisted thing you came up with to mess with Stiles!"

Derek snarled and pulled Scott from the tree he had him pinned against and flung him, by his neck, back across the field, leaving five long scratch marks along the teen's neck. Scott groaned in pain and lay still on his back, breathing heavy, with blood sliding down the side of his neck from Derek's claws.

He closed his eyes and swallowed, his wolf hearing picking up the sounds of Derek's footfalls heading his way. When a shadow blocked the light from the moon, Scott opened his eyes and looked into the now stoic face of Derek Hale. "If it wasn't true, do you think I would have lured you out here at all." Derek got down on one knee and leaned over Scott. He grabbed the prone teen's now bloodied shirt front and fisted the cotton in his hand.

Nose to nose, Derek's blue eyes captured Scott's brown and he spoke slowly and simply, "Touch him again and you'll be eating out of a straw for the rest of your life. Consider this...your warning."

Derek snapped his fangs at Scott before tossing him back onto the ground and walking away.

When Derek got back to Stiles' house and jumped through the window, he was immediately assaulted by the young teen.

"What the hell man! I told you not to do anything!" Stiles' yelled as he punched Derek.

Derek's jaw clenched at the punch to the chest and just as he was going to open his mouth to rebute the fact that Stiles was wrong and he had done exactly as he was supposed to. Before he could though, two strong arms wrapped around him in a bone crushing hug. Derek paused in confusion not sure what to expect next when he heard Stiles' whispered words mumbled into his chest. "Thanks."

The Alpha wrapped his arms around his mate's waist and smiled against Stiles' neck. "Anytime."

**As always Reviews Welcome, but not mandatory. :)**


	4. By My Side

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own Ten Wolf or Dylan O'Brian or Tyler Hoechlin or Colton Haynes or anyone else from this show. Dammit! **

**A/N: Here is chapter 4 for all my wonderful reviewers and lurkers. I really do appreciate the time you guys take to read and re****view. With that said, please enjoy. :D**

John walked through the front door of his house balancing two pizza's and a six-pack of cola in his arms. He kicked the door shut behind him and headed towards the kitchen with his spoils. He placed the pies in the middle of the table and grabbed the soda from atop the boxes to put it in the fridge. Then he headed to the living room, stopping just inside the entry way. He looked around his house and was glad he wouldn't have to clean up. If Stiles had been bringing a girl over he would've been more inclined to make an effort, but considering he was seeing a boy, why bother.

It's not that he didn't want to make a good impression on the kid dating his boy, but he was kind of hoping that maybe this dating a guy thing was just a phase Stiles was going through. Not to say that John had a problem with Homosexuals. As long as they didn't hit on him or commit any crimes in his town, he let them be.

Live and let live.

Stiles though...Stiles was his only son. He had thought that after college, Stiles would find a nice girl and settle down. Having two point five kids and maybe a nice Labrador. At least, that's the life he had hoped for his boy, but if this wasn't just curiosity then John wouldn't hold his breath.

He ran a hand over his eyes and turned back to the fridge. He grabbed a slightly chilled can from the pack and popped the top, taking a long pull, downing half of the can in one shot. He let out a rather loud belch and put a hand to his chest. _I wish this was a beer, _John sighed as he looked down at the red and white can in his hand.

He heard a car pull up to the house and John chugged the rest of the can, letting out another belch, "Lord, Give me strength to get through this and not shoot this kid on sight."

Stiles sat in the front seat of Derek's Camaro, outside of his house, rocking, with his head between his knees and a large hand rubbing up and down his back. "Okay. Okay. We can do this. I can do this. We're just gonna go in there and tell him and not die."

"Stiles."

"Oh God, oh man, oh God, he's gonna kill me."

"It's gonna be fine. If he kills anyone it's gonna be me. I was the suspected murderer."

Stiles groaned even louder, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, I think I'm gonna be sick."

"This _was _your idea."

"Correction. Dinner was my Dad's idea. I wanted him to meet you in the woods where there was a better chance of you getting away. You know, home-field advantage."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure being in the woods would have been an advantage for your Dad. He would have been able to shoot me and claim he thought I was a bear. Or you know, just shoot me and hide the body and tell you I ran off."

"I'm gonna throw up."

"Not in the car."

Stiles groaned again and opened the car door, a nice little breeze washed over his face and he breathed in deep, feeling a little better. Derek's hand went back to rubbing up and down Stiles' back, hoping to soothe his mate a little.

"It's gonna be okay Stiles."

Stiles took a few more deep breaths, filling his lungs up with fresh slightly pine-y air. It helped soothe his nerves a bit and he sat back against the fine leather upholstery. Derek's hand moved from his back to his thigh, still rubbing gently. Stiles turned his head and caught Derek's gaze with his own.

"What if it isn't?"

The older man's eyes became soft and slightly worried, but Stiles could see some determination in there as well.

"I already told you, nothing's gonna stop this. Stop _us_ from happening. I know that he definitely won't like the fact that it's me, but I am hoping that he'll respect your decision. That he'll have the confidence in you to make the right judgment regarding your life."

"Man, you really aren't talkative, but when you do speak you always say the right thing."

Derek smirked, "You ready to go in now?"

"No."

"Stiles..." The older man sighed and rested his forehead against the younger man's shoulder.

"It's true. I'm not ready, but the sooner we do this the better."

Derek looked up and smiled, he leaned forward and captured Stiles' lips in a quick kiss for luck and to calm his own nerves. He opened his door and exited the car. Stiles took a few more deep breaths and muttered, "Oh cosmic one, please let us get out of this with all our body parts intact."

John sat with his arms crossed at the kitchen table, waiting. A car, more than likely that boy's, had pulled up his driveway and they had been sitting outside now for a good ten minutes. The sheriff was getting a little impatient to say the least. He was tempted to go outside and interrupt any funny business. _In fact_, John thought, _I might just go and do that. Maybe I should get my gun too._

A few seconds after those thoughts had crossed his mind, he heard the front door open and Stiles' voice drifted in through to the kitchen, "Dad? Um, we're here!"

"It's about damn time." John grumbled. He got up and moved through the entry way towards the front room, "What the hell were you two..." The Sheriff stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the hulking figure of Derek-_freaking-murder-suspect_-Hale standing behind his son. His furious blue eyes caught his son's and held them, "Stiles tell me this is a joke."

Stiles gulped, then made the terrifying and completely unneeded introductions. "Dad, Derek. Derek, Dad."

Derek had been relaxed for about thirty seconds after entering the Stillinski home,that was until the Sheriff caught sight of him. Then the musky scent of pure hate had filled his nostrils and he became tense.

John and Derek stared at each other.

Both bodies tense and unmoving as they stared each other down.

Alpha versus Alpha.

John suddenly turned and went back through the kitchen door, Stiles eyes went wide and he rushed to stand back in front of Derek, pushing the older man back against the wood of the door. Derek was confused until he saw the older Stillinski come back around the corner with handcuffs dangling from one of his pockets and a standard issue policeman's gun pointed right at his head.

"Dad!" Stiles shouted at the same time John barked out, "Move away from my son and put your hands on your head!"

Stiles' put up his hands. "Dad...please!"

"Stiles do you know _who_ that is?" John's grip on his gun tightened.

"My boyfriend."

Derek wrinkled his nose at the label, not liking it one bit, he was gonna have to talk to the kid about that.

"No he's not."

"Dad."

"Stiles. Move."

"Hear me out, okay?" Stiles pleaded.

The look in his son's eyes called out to his familial instinct, but the man behind his boy provoked every ounce of his cop instinct. "Stiles. I honestly don't think that there is anything you can say that will make me think this is okay."

It was a tense few moments between the three men before Derek decided to break the silence.

"Mr. Stillinski-"

"Sir." John barked out, "You haven't earned the right to use my name."

Derek's wolf was not happy at the order, but he acquiesced, "Sir. You're right."

"_What!_" "What?" Both Stiles' and the Sheriff said at the same time. Stiles had wheeled around and was now half facing both Derek and his father.

Derek looked at his mate, "Stiles. He's right. Nothing we say will change his mind right now."

"Smart. At least you found someone with a bit of an I.Q. Stiles."

"Dude, what are you doing?" Stiles questioned, eyes wide and worried.

"Your father is more of an actions-speak-louder man. So there will be nothing either of us can say to get his approval. I'll have to prove I'm worthy of you with my intentions and actions."

"Damn straight." John muttered, "I don't think that'll be a problem though. You look like the love'em and leave'em type."

Derek bristled at the comment. His eyes locked onto the Sheriff's, "I can guarantee you, sir, that I'm in this for the long haul."

"You mean until some other pretty little thing comes along."

Stiles rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Gee, Dad, you really think I'm pretty."

The Sheriff rolled his eyes and decided to ignore that last comment, "He's just using you Stiles. He'll toss you aside just as soon as he's done with you or leave you in a ditch somewhere."

Derek growled at the accusation and the Sheriff's eyebrows rose at the sound. Before he could utter a word, Stiles interrupted him with an exuberant, "Do I smell pizza!"

He placed his hand over his stomach and sighed dramatically, "Man I could go for a slice." He looked between Derek and his father. "Come on, let's go eat and have a civilized conversation like the adults we are."

Both John and Derek snorted at the remark. They looked at each other for their brief moment of agreement before returning to scowl at one another.

John slowly lowered his weapon and relaxed a little. He nodded his head toward the dining area and smiled tightly, "After you."

Stiles practically ran to the other room, leaving Derek and his father alone in the entryway. Derek moved forward and his eyes reluctantly moved from John's hazel gaze, as he headed after his young mate.

Once in the dining room, Derek took a seat to Stiles' left, sitting at one end of the table. John had walked in right after him and sat at the opposite end, so he was facing Derek head on. The Sheriff made sure the safety was on before setting his gun on the table, in clear view of the muscle head who was..._dating_ his son.

Stiles eyed the gun warily, "Dad, no fire-arms at the table."

"It's either that or I handcuff him to the sink."

"Dad."

"Stiles."

"It's okay Stiles." Derek said, reaching for Stiles hand, he interlaced their fingers and smirked when he saw the Sheriff frown. "It's his house. If he feels better with his gun by his side I won't argue with him."

_Oh, he's a good one, _John thought. "Well, go on boys, dig in."

Derek let go of Stiles hand and the younger man was quick to open the first box. The smell of pepperoni and sausage filled his senses, "Oh, yeah. You got the good pizza."

John smiled, "Is there anything else."

Stiles smiled at his dad and grabbed two slices of the slightly cooled pie. The cheese was still melt-y and the more Stiles pulled on the slices, the more of a cheese bridge was created. "I am going to be in seventh heaven."

Derek smiled and grabbed a couple slices for himself. John then grabbed two slices as well and then got up and grabbed the now five pack of soda he had placed in the fridge earlier.

Stiles moaned after the first bite and closed his eyes in bliss. The fresh ingredients of tomato, basil, mozzarella, and meat mixing in his mouth to create the wonderful sensation of a mouth-gasm. Derek watched his mate with hungry eyes, forgetting that he was sitting in the Stillinski home and Stillinski Sr. was the town Sheriff, with his fire-arm sitting within close range.

John saw his son's eyes close in bliss as he ate, but he also saw the way Hale's pupils dilated to make the older man's eyes look completely black.

John was _not _happy about that.

"If you're done eye-fucking my son then maybe we can talk."

Stiles' eyes popped open and he coughed. Choking a little on the pizza still left in his mouth. Derek was just as equally surprised, but he recovered enough to smack Stiles' back a couple times until the younger man coughed up the chunk onto his plate.

"The hell Dad!" Stiles' face was flushed from both the choking and his fathers remark.

"How old are you Hale?"

"Twenty-four, sir."

"You think it's okay for you to be dating a sixteen year old?"

"Seventeen year old."

"Doesn't matter jail bait."

Stiles groaned and thunked his head on the table, "Dad we haven't done anything."

"Yet."

Stiles looked back up at his father, "Of course at some point it's going to get physical-" John growled- "but not for a long, long time. It'll probably, most definitely happen for the first time when you're six feet under."

"Sir, Stiles is correct. Nothing has happened. We did only just start dating and I'm an old fashioned type of guy. I like to take things slow."

Stiles tried really hard not to blush again, but he failed miserably.

"Exactly. You just started dating. Stiles, how do you know Hale's not just using you?"

"I just do okay."

"That's a great answer." John rolled his eyes.

Stiles rubbed his hands over his face and then reached for Derek's hand. He looked his father square in the eye and said those four magic words that got John thinking a little bit differently, "Dad, I trust him."

If John knew anything about his boy it was that you had to earn his trust. Just like you had to earn John's. It was probably one of the few traits that Stiles had gotten from him, everything thing else was all the boy's mother. That was another reason why Stiles had some trust issues.

His mother.

She had reassured Stiles all throughout treatment that she was going to be okay. That she was going to be there for Stiles, pinkie-promise-cross-her-heart, but the Cancer had just made her so weak. They had thought it better not to tell a six year old that his mother was going to die.

At the funeral, he had yelled at John and then yelled at his mother's grave. Kicking the headstone and screaming that she was a liar, then he ran off. John had let him have a five minute lead, maybe let his boy grieve by himself for awhile, but then John hadn't been able to find him.

Those had been the worst five hours of John's life.

He had called in everyone he knew to search for Stiles. They had combed every nook of the cemetery. The woods. The town.

They had ended up finding him at home, in their closet, under a pile of his mother's blouses. He had cried and screamed himself to exhaustion the doctor had said.

It had taken Stiles almost a week until his voice was back to normal.

Then Stiles had met Scott two weeks later when he and his mother had moved to Beacon Hills and six months later Stiles had a best friend.

Since then, his boy had had the damnedest time trusting anyone. So for Stiles to admit that he trusted Derek-_**freaking**_-Hale of all people, John had no choice but to let them have a shot.

To give Derek a shot.

He looked at the two and said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Stiles eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll let you two give this a shot." He turned hazel eyes to Derek, "You step one toe out of line and they won't find the body. Understand?"

"Yes Sir." Derek was a little surprised that all it had taken was for Stiles to say he trusted him for the elder to give the thumbs up, but he wasn't going to say anything to that fact.

There wasn't much conversation between the trio of men after that. Just the occasional questions about interests and future plans.

After they annihilated the two pies, they headed into the living room and sat down on the couch to watch some television and let the pizza settle in their stomachs.

Derek sat next to Stiles and waited until he thought John was more engrossed in the show to put his arm around the teen's shoulder. At the move, John crushed the can from the soda he had just finished and stared harder than necessary at the program.

They sat through two episodes of _Sanford & Son_ and half of an episode of _The Golden Girls _before John had decided that maybe Derek should head home. The fact that Stiles was practically sitting in Derek's lap had helped him come to said decision.

John stood by the front door, arms crossed over his chest, as he watched his son hug and...kiss Derek goodbye. Then he watched his son, watch his boyfriend, as he drove away into the night.

Stiles turned around and walked back up the front steps, standing right in front of his Dad with his hands in his front pockets. "I know you're probably disappointed in me, but he really...loves me Pops and while I'm not there yet, I do want to give us a chance. So can you just not be too hard on him."

John gave Stiles a long look, "Alright." He moved forward and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed it, then headed inside their home. "Come on. Let's watch something a little more manly."

"Thanks, but I think I'm gonna head up to bed. I'm worn out." Stiles said as he followed.

John nodded and said goodnight to his son as he headed into the living room to think about everything that had been said tonight. Stiles waited a few minutes at the bottom of the stairs before heading up to his room to meet Derek.

He really needed a cuddle after tonight and his own personal wolf was perfect for the task.

**As always Reviews welcome, but not mandatory.**


	5. Emotions Swim

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own _Teen Wolf _the television series or any of the characters. I only play with the boys as I see fit.**_  
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**A/N: Whoever is first to get the movie reference in this Chapter will get a Stiles/Derek one-shot written to their wishes. :D  
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_Fridays officially sucked,_ Stiles thought as he stood in the middle of the cafeteria with no table to call his own. His tray filled with a plate of spaghetti and what looked to be meat sauce. What kind of meat was another question altogether.

He had been banned from his usual table by the dynamic duo that was Scott and Allison. The latter of which obviously got some sort of story about Stiles getting Derek to beat up on Scott for no apparent reason because when he had walked up to the table as usual, he received two scathing looks at his approach. As he went to sit down, Allison scooted over and Stiles almost sat on her. She had glared at him and made a snide comment of, '_You gonna sick Derek on me too?' _before turning back to Scott, resuming her lunch and conversation.

Stiles stood there for a minute, crestfallen at what had just happened and then walked away. Spotting and empty table near the vending machines, the lone teen headed towards it. He sat down and picked up his fork, staring at the pasta, Stiles realized how not hungry he was. He pushed his tray away from him and hid his head in his arms on the table.

Lydia Martin balanced a tray of food on her forearm while reading a text from Jackson, saying that he wasn't gonna be able to do their date tonight in favor of 'guy time'. _Ha. Well we'll see how he likes no sex. Maybe her 'headache' could last the rest of the school year, _Lydia smirked to herself and slid her phone back into her pocket. This would make the third time in the past two months he had bailed and if you knew anything about Lydia Martin, it was that when she didn't get her way she could be extremely vindictive, albeit in a quiet and sneaky manner, using her best manipulation tactics. Sex was one of her best weapons, as was with any woman worth their salt.

She looked up, ready to head to her table, when her smokey gray eyes landed on a familiar flanneled figure. Stiles was sitting curiously alone at an empty table by the vending machines. Lydia looked over and saw Allison talking to her new and oh-so-average Wolf-boy boyfriend, whose name was not important enough to remember, but always hung out with Flannel Kid. _What a curious thing that they aren't joined at the hip today, _Lydia thought before remembering the scene she had witnessed the previous day.

Stiles being pinned up against a locker as a yellow eyed boy growled at him. When he had hit the lockers, even she had winced in pain from her hiding spot, just at the end of the hall. Each moan from Stiles had had her fuming with anger and that in itself had surprised her. She had never felt anger on behalf of anyone. Not even Jackson, but he usually deserved what he got, the boy was pretty, but just a bit on the dense side.

The cause of separation had to be the fight, but if so, then why didn't Steve have the hang-dog expression instead. Why was Stiles the one that looked as if someone had just kicked his puppy? Lips pursed, eyes narrowed, and fingers tapping on the bottom of her tray, Lydia thought back to the other day and exactly what she had heard between the two boys and what Allison had been jabbering on about this morning.

Students walked around the statue like future Prom Queen standing in the middle of the cafeteria with trepidation. All were curious and just a little frightened at what might be running through the beautiful girl's mind. A few band geeks had a terrible start when just as they started their way past the redhead, she let out a devious little laugh, followed by a smile, and squared her shoulders, walking off towards the back of the cafeteria.

They looked over and saw her heading towards that weird ADHD kid that always wore those flannel shirts and then looked at each other before sending up a prayer for the unsuspecting boy.

Stiles' mind was running through things he could say to Scott to get the other teen to forgive him when he heard a throat being cleared over his shoulder. He looked up and his brown eyes widened in utter surprise at seeing the Lydia Martin, former-love-of-his-life, standing at the end of his table, with an earth shattering smile, directed right at him. _Oh, crap, Derek is so lucky I'm committed to him right now, _Stiles thought as he gazed up at perfection of the female form.

"Is this seat taken?"

"...uh..."

Lydia's brow rose and she nodded to the table. Stiles' eyes widened in realization that she actually wanted to sit at _his _table.

With _him. _

Where people could see _them_.

_Together._

"Am I on _Punk'd_? Where's Kutcher or Bieber? Oh, do you think he'll let me meet Selena Gomez? I'm a major fan. Wizards of Waverly Place is such a-" a mix of disbelief and humor filled the girl's face and Stiles changed thoughts, "-show for babies. Psh. Ha. Wizards, Disney, shenanigans,...Selena." Stiles' sighed out the last part.

Lydia rolled her eyes and placed her tray on the table with a little more force than necessary and leaned over, "I won't ask again."

Stiles jumped up and tripped over the bleacher style seat, falling to the questionably clean linoleum. He jumped back up and gestured to his table, bowing before sweeping off any possible crumbs from both the table and seat.

"Why Thank You, Stiles. Such a gentleman." Lydia sat down and smiled at the flustered boy. She motioned for him to sit down as well and Stiles did as requested, rather quickly this time, so as not to upset Lydia any further.

As Lydia dressed her salad in some non-fat dressing and peppered her chicken, Stiles sat, watching with an open mouth, still not believing that _Lydia-freaking-Prom-Queen-Martin _was sitting with him. Sure they had hung out in terror briefly in the school when being chased by the former psycho Alpha, but they hadn't really ever be in the same group. Even if Allison, Lydia's new BFF of the month, was currently dating his supposed...BFF, Stiles thought with chagrin.

"If you leave you're mouth open like that Danny might find it as an open invitation."

Stiles mouth snapped shut and clamped a hand over his mouth, looking around for the Lacrosse Goalie. Lydia gave a small chortle and went back to cutting up her chicken, then mixed it in with her salad.

Stiles' removed his hand from his mouth and cleared his throat, "Question: Why are you sitting over here? With _me_? Allison is over there, shouldn't you be gossiping it up with her during lunch and not sitting in exile with me."

"You're not in exile, you've just realized too late in life that you're much to smart for that little group over there. Much like I have and you're now surrounding yourself with a more sophisticated class of people, namely me."

"Uh..."

"Or it could just be that the Steve over there is still pissed about you sending your very tall, dark, and extremely hairy, but oh, so handsome boyfriend to kick his dumb ass."

"Steve?"

"Boy wonder over there."

"You mean Scott?"

"Whatever." She took a bite of her salad and looked Stiles in the eye, "So then I'm right. It has to do with tall, dark, and hairy beating him to a pulp."

"Hairy? Derek hardly has any body hair."

"Oh, do tell." Lydia batted her eyes and laughed when Stiles turned bet red. "Come on, what's the elusive Hale like in bed." She lowered her voice and leaned in conspiratorially, "I bet he's just an _animal_."

Stiles was still red and he stuttered out, "Not that it's any of your business, but we haven't done the deed yet. So I wouldn't know."

When he was smacked on the forehead with a plastic spork, Stiles was surprised, "What was that for?"

"Rule one on being my best friend is that you tell me everything, no matter how kinky and likewise. Even if you guys haven't done the horizontal tango yet, you have messed around or else you wouldn't know that he wasn't that hairy. So spill. What's a wolf like in bed?"

Stiles, who was wiping the salad dressing off his forehead, froze and turned quizzical eyes to the redhead, "Best friend? Wolf? What? "

"Yes, best friend. I have decided that you will be my new go to girl...guy. So get used to it and yes, wolf, don't try to play dumb. I know."

"Know what?"

"I _know, _Stiles. I figured it out after the school incident."

"Figured what out?"

Lydia smacked him on the forehead again and glared, "I may look the part, but I am a not just some dumb girl. I have an IQ of 166, so don't bullshit me."

Stiles sighed and looked around the room, he grabbed up his own spork and took a bite of his nasty, cold pasta. "You can't tell anyone. There are people out there who want to harm people like Derek and Scott."

"Like who?"

"The Argents."

"So Steve is dating the enemy."

"Yes."

"Does he know?"

"Oh, yeah, believe me. Derek and I have warned him away from Allison a few million times. I think she may be his mate though, so I don't see them splitting up anytime soon."

"Mate? So is that what Hale is? Or are you two just relieving mutual sexual frustrations?"

"Mate."

Lydia smirked, "You lucky S.O.B."

Stiles ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly, "Yeah. I know. I'm still not sure how it even happened, but he already says he loves me and he talks about forever. He's kind of a girl about it to tell you the truth."

Lydia laughed, "You don't like the forever talk then?"

"To be honest I'm still getting used to it. I'm not to sure that forever is real."

"Pessimist."

"Like you believe in forever." Stiles scoffed.

"I do actually, when the person's right."

"So then is Jackson forever?"

Lydia paused for a minute, spork poised mid air, halfway up to her mouth. She gave a sideways glance at Stiles, "Honestly, I would like him to be, but I don't think so." She finished her bite and dropped her spork to the plate.

"Sorry. Why not?"

She smiled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "It's mainly maturity and ambition. Jackson can't see past his next game or lay. I need someone who's mature and knows how to treat a woman like me. Maybe when I go to college I'll just forgo boys altogether and when I graduate I'll find a nice older man worth my time."

"Why are you still with him then?"

"Well, he is fun to play with and he'll help me become Prom Queen."

Stiles rose a brow and leaned on his elbow, his head resting on his fist, "I don't believe those excuses."

Lydia stalled for a moment before she opened her mouth to elaborate, only to be cut off by Jackson, who had just walked up with Danny in tow. "Hey Spaz, what are you doin' with my girl?"

Stiles sat up and was about to babble out some half-assed excuse, when Lydia scooted closer to him and twined her arm with his, glaring at Jackson. "So now you're the only one allowed to have a best friend?"

"Best friend? With Flannel kid? Since when? He's probably just trying to get into your skirt."

"Why would he do that when he has an older and very delicious boyfriend who can probably hammer a nail through a board with his penis?"

Jackson looked confused and Danny's face took on a look of interest.

Stiles laughed, "Nice reference."

"Thanks. You'll have to tell me if it's accurate though."

"You have a boyfriend?...You're gay?" Danny asked, surprised.

Jackson scoffed,"Since when?"

"Wednesday around midnight."

"You've been gay for like three days!"

"Yup."

"Babe."

"He is not trying to 'hit this' Jackson, don't worry."

"Well not anymore." Stiles whispered and Lydia rolled her eyes.

"So who's this 'boyfriend'?" Danny said, a little jealousy lacing his voice, even though he had no claim to be.

"Derek Hale."

Danny was surprised and Jackson visibly paled. "Hales gay...?"

"Only for me. I guess he just really finds me attractive." Stiles gave a pointed look to Danny. The goalie did well to look ashamed. If he had just answered that silly question he could have had a boyfriend with substance, who knew.

"So you're hanging out with the popular crowd now, Stiles." Scott sneered, as he and Allison walked up to their table.

"You wouldn't let me sit with you guys and I can't stop Lydia from sitting where she wants so...kind of, yeah."

Scott looked at Lydia, Jackson, and Danny and said, "Better be careful or he'll sick his big, bad boyfriend on you too."

If possible Jackson got even paler. Danny gave Scott a look that said '_really, dude'. _While Lydia bristled at the remark.

"I didn't 'sick' him on you. He did that on his own!" Stiles half yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

"Maybe if you hadn't assaulted him in the halls, slamming him into the lockers, for being with Hale, then maybe Derek wouldn't have seen the bruises on my poor Stiles' back and maybe he wouldn't have had to kick your ass. So I suggest, that if you don't want a big, bad, scary, man to huff, puff, and make you bleed internally, the next time you think about laying a hand on Stiles you remember the feeling of his boot up your ass."

As she spoke, Lydia had untwisted her arm from Stiles, got up from her seat, and walked around the table and stood stiletto's to sneakers, nose to nose, with the teen wolf.

"You didn't tell me that part." Allison accused, crossing her arms over her chest and moving to stand with Lydia, facing Scott.

"Bruises?" Scott looked down at Stiles, his eyes had softened and he did well to look ashamed, "I didn't think I had pushed you that hard."

"Well you did. Derek saw them and I told him not to do anything but he doesn't follow commands very well."

The bell rang then, signaling that lunch was over and people needed to get to class pronto or else.

"I can't believe that you did that to your best-friend!" Allison said as she stormed off, grumbling about 'half-truths' under her breath as she did.

"Allison, wait!" Scott said, forgetting all about Stiles and the unfinished apologies, "Allison! I'm sorry!" Scott yelled, rushing off after his girlfriend. Stiles noted sadly as he watched Scott walk away that the teen hadn't apologized to him.

Danny turned to Stiles, "So if I had answered that ridiculous question a month ago we might have...?"

"I don't think so, it would have most likely just sped things up with Derek."

"Well I definitely don't want a boot up my ass. Hale scares me. Friends?"

"Thought we kind of already were."

"Cool. See you around Stillinski." Danny started to walk off when Jackson halted him, "Hold up Danny. Babe, I'll see you later tonight."

Lydia beamed and wound her arms around Jackson's neck. "You mean for our date."

"No. I told you. Guy's night tonight. I meant later, I could come over for...you know."

Lydia narrowed her eyes and pushed him away from her, "Yeah, you go ahead and see how that goes. Don't be surprised if I call the cops on your scrawny ass. Stiles come on, you can walk me to class."

"But I have Phys. Ed. and it's on the other side of the school so I-" Lydia focused her gaze on the young Stillinski and he backtracked, "-would be honored to have the wrath of Coach rain down upon me, so that I may walk my fabulous new best-ie to her class safely." He got up, grabbed his book bag from the floor, Lydia's books from the table, and moved to Lydia's side.

"So sweet. Jackson you should be taking notes." She flipped her long hair in her boyfriend's face before putting her arm back through Stiles', they walked out of the cafeteria, students casually making the way for their Queen Bee and her new acquisition.

**As always Reviews Welcome, but not not mandatory.**


	6. Hold My Hand

**DISCLAIMER:**** I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD...Ugh, wait, wrong fandom *Coughs* I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT _TEEN WOLF_ IS NOT, NOR WILL IT EVER BE, MY PROPERTY. *Cries into Derek Hale's Leather jacket***

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry this took so long. Even though I have it written out on paper it just wasn't coming out right on digital paper and so I was tweaking things and then work got in the way and I am ashamed. *hangs head* Anyways, here's Ch. 6, I hope you enjoy. **

**Also, just wanna say...OMG that pool scene was perfect potential for my boys but the writers didn't take advantage of it. For shame writers! So far this season Derk's saved Stiles twice and Stiles has save Derek once. I keep track of things to prove that the two secretly want each other while hiding it with fake disgust for each other. With this said, again, enjoy Ch. 6...  
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Derek grabbed up the ice chest holding their water and some perishables and put it in the back of Stiles' jeep, next to the two tents, three sleeping bags, fishing rod, and the tackle box, he had already placed inside.

When he was finished, he shut the hatch and leaned against the side of the jeep, his brow furrowed and a scowl on his face. He could hear Stiles inside talking to someone on the phone, and he knew it was Lydia just based on the quick upbeat of Stiles heart every so often. Which just made his scowl deepen even more.

Loathe to admit it, Derek was uncomfortable.

Even though Stiles had said that he wasn't in love with the sultry redhead anymore, his body seemed to think otherwise. Especially now, since the girl had decided to get her manicured claws into Stiles as '_a friend nothing more_', as Stiles had explained it the night before...

When Stiles had come home from school the other day and told Derek of the redhead's new attachment to him, Derek was not pleased. Mainly due to the..._love_, his mate had held for her for all those years.

When Stiles saw '_the look'_ on Derek's face, he had been quick to assure the werewolf that it was all innocent and that he had no attachment other than friendship towards the Lydia now. Derek trusted Stiles, implicitly, it was Lydia that he had trouble trusting. When he had told-yelled-as much to Stiles, Stiles had just rolled his eyes and smacked Derek upside the head. He had even recapped the redhead's defense of him to Scott and how she was probably only trying to be his friend to get all of the kinky details out of their relationship. Quoting that Lydia had told him she needed something juicy and hot to fantasize about when she was having sexy times with Jackson.

Derek had actually blushed a little, before playfully pushing his young mate on the bed and leading the teen to more relationship affirming activities.

A very wolfish smile formed on the older man's face as he thought back to all the fun they had had last night. Even if they had yet to consummate their mating, it had still been wonderful.

Derek, for one, could not wait until Stiles was ready and they became one.

Their mating would be written about in the stars and sung by God, herself.

So caught up in his thoughts, Derek didn't notice when the talkative teen made his way outside.

Stiles walked out of the house with his cell phone in his hand, unbelieving of what had just happened. Lydia had just invited herself to their manly dad-getting-to-know-the-boyfriend-without-killing-him-hopefully camp out under the stars.

He looked up and was about to break the news to Derek when he saw his Wolf leaning against his jeep, arms crossed, and the most beautiful smile on the man's face.

It was like someone had just handed the older man a platter of his favorite cut steaks or a platter with Stiles spread-out on it.

Stiles blushed a little at his own thought.

It still amazed him.

This whole connection between them.

He had to admit that from the first minute Derek had almost made him crap his pants he had been drawn to the man. The mystery surrounding the lone man had drawn Stiles in like a moth to a flame and the minute he had figured out _what _both, Derek and Scott were, well, there was no hope of his life ever being the same again. Which at the time he hadn't known was going to drastically change so much cause of Werewolf Lore.

Coming back to himself and before the moment was lost forever, Stiles quietly took his cell phone out and turned on the camera function. He snapped three pictures, capturing the look on the Werewolf's face before Derek glanced up and saw him.

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing." Stiles eeped, as he quickly locked his phone, before slipping it back into his pocket.

Derek quirked a brow and made his way over to the teen, wrapping his arms around Stiles waist, "Liar."

"So I may or may not have gotten actual proof that you can smile. Bite me."

Derek growled and lunged forward, playfully nipping at Stiles throat. "That can be arranged."

Stiles shivered and wrapped his arms around his wolf's neck, closing his eyes as the older man nuzzled, nipped, licked, and sucked at his throat.

"Man, I don't know if I'll ever get used to how affectionate you are." Stiles moaned out.

"After a few years of being alone it kind of stacks up on you. Good thing I've got you to use it on now." Derek smiled against Stiles skin as he left yet another hickey on his boy, at least this one everyone would be able to see.

Stiles laughed, "Is this '_Invasion Of The Body Snatchers_'? Where do you come up with this stuff?"

Derek pulled away and gave him a half-smile, "It just comes out. I think it's because you make us happy."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We haven't been happy for a long, long time and you Stiles, make us very, very happy."

"I'm glad," Stiles smiled and hugged Derek close, "I want you to remember that after I tell you this news I just got."

"What's that?" Derek asked into the teen's neck.

"Lydia's going camping with us."

Derek's hold on Stiles waist tightened and a low, slow growl escaped from the older man's lips. "Uh, Derek, grip. Hurts."

Derek's grip loosened a fraction and he pulled his head back, "What do you mean Lydia's coming with us!"

"She just called. Asked what I was up to this weekend and then invited herself."

"Why didn't you say no?"

"I tried, but to Lydia 'no' means 'yes' and if it's something she really wants then she gets it and apparently, she really wants to go camping with us."

Derek groaned and dropped his head to Stiles shoulder. "It's not enough that I have to put up with your dad making threats and cock-blocking me all weekend, but now I have to deal with Lydia too."

"No sexy-Stiles-time for Derek, poor guy."

Derek snorted and lifted his head of his boy's shoulder, "I know. I will be a poor, poor man this weekend when I won't be able to wake up with you in my arms or kiss you...all...night...long..." Each little pause was punctuated with a slight brush of lips on his boy's mouth. The last brush became longer and more passionate, but stayed in a slow caress. Stiles moaned and grabbed onto his bulky mate's leather jacket, his fists twisting the leather up and his nails leaving little indents that Derek would later scold him for.

The soft click of a gun being cocked reached Derek's ears and he cursed himself for not noticing the person approach before. He ripped himself away from Stiles lips and turned, placing himself in between his mate and the threat, even if said threat was his boy's father.

Confused at the sudden disappearance of Derek's lips, Stiles peeked over the older man's shoulder and groaned. He placed his forehead on the cool leather covering Derek's shoulder and whined pitifully, "Da-ad."

John kept the gun trained on Derek a beat longer than he needed to before lowering his weapon and shrugging, "Thought you were being attacked by some thug."

"Sure." Stiles scoffed and Derek rolled his eyes.

"You two get everything packed up?"

"Yeah, we did, but we have a slight problem."

"What?"

"No condoms." Derek dead panned.

John had his gun trained on the Alpha before you could blink and it was Stiles who stepped in front of Derek this time. "Dad! He was only joking!"

John death-glared at Hale, "Better be." He put his gun away and asked, "What's the real problem?"

"She's about five foot four, with strawberry-blonde hair, grey eyes, and a statuesque body to die for."

Derek growled and Stiles rolled his eyes at the man.

"That sounds like a pin-up girl I wanna meet. What's the problem?"

"You've already met her. It's Lydia Martin and she's coming with us."

John took this in for half a second before a little gleam twinkled in his eye and he tried to hide a smile, "That's alright with me as long as she brings her own stuff and doesn't complain."

"I don't know if I can promise the 'no complaints' part, but she is bringing her own stuff."

John nodded, "I'm gonna go wash up and change. We need to leave soon, so I'll be quick. If Ms. Martin doesn't show up in the next five minutes we're leaving without her."

"Alright."

As soon as the Sheriff was inside Stiles turned around and punched Derek in the arm, "Idiot. No condoms...psh."

"Sorry."

"Did you see the look on his face though? Priceless."

"Think there's a chance he'll try to kill me in my sleep?" Derek questioned playfully.

"Definitely. I would say there's no '_try_' about it, but you being you and all, with your super-wolf hearing, you'd hear him loading the shotgun a mile away." Stiles said, as he swung his arm around the older man's shoulders.

Derek laughed and wrapped his arm around Stiles' waist, he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss to his boy's neck before pulling away and smiling down at his mate.

The sound of car tires on gravel alerted Derek that someone was driving up the path and towards the Stillinski home. Lydia's sweet-anger-filled voice floated to his ears and he cursed.

"Barbie's here." Derek growled.

No sooner had Derek spoke the words than a cute little red sports car, not built for off-roading came into view. Lydia parked behind John's SUV and stayed in her car, arguing with someone on the phone. The older man kept a glare on his face and moved over to lean against the jeep, arms crossed.

Stiles just rolled his eyes and waved at the redhead. She smiled waved back and then pointed to her phone and made faces. Stiles smiled at her antics. Her face turned angry and Stiles saw her lip curl up in disgust, before she responded to whoever was on the other line.

Stiles turned to Derek, "What's going on?"

"Jackson. It's not good."

"Ah."

They both watched her as she yelled into the phone, then disconnect the call with a huff, and grabbing up her stuff, before exiting the sports car.

"Hello boys." She slammed her car door and then looked past Stiles' shoulder and whistled, "Hello Sheriff. You clean up nice."

Stiles turned back to the house just in time to see his dad's cheeks tinge red and him grunt in reply, "Get your stuff and let's go. Daylights burning."

"Boys a little help."

Surprisingly, Lydia only brought the necessities. A single purple backpack with her clothes and female needs products, a rather comfy looking light green sleeping bag, and a moderately sized tent. To say all three men were surprised was an understatement.

Derek loaded her stuff into the Jeep while the others got settled in their seats. Stiles was waiting by the drivers door, his seat leaned forward and a half-smile on his face.

"Dad gets shotgun. Sorry."

The Alpha gave a growl of annoyance at having to sit next to Lydia in the back. "Lucky I love you."

"I know. Now get in there sweet cheeks." Stiles said, slapping Derek on the ass as the older man was trying to get in. Lydia giggled and John grumbled.

Derek settled his larger frame in the smaller space as comfortably as he could and Stiles fixed his seat before getting himself situated.

"Everyone ready?"

"Two days with with no calls, no texts,no parents,no gossip, and three extremely attractive men? I am more than ready." Lydia sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Drive on James."

"You got it Miss Daisy." Stiles smirked and started up his jeep.

The hour long ride was filled with Lydia and her no-stop chattering of anything and everything that had happened to her during the week, no matter how inane it was. When Stiles pulled into the campsite parking area he had barely even put the car in park before Derek had started pushing at his seat wanting to be let out. Growling in annoyance as Stiles took a little more time than necessary to shut off the jeep and unbuckle his seat belt.

"I know. There'll be no arguing while I can help it. Well, unless I'm the one doing the arguing. I do enjoy a good verbal row every now and then."

The two got out and went round to the back of the jeep, then started unloading all the gear. Lydia looked over and called, "Hey sweet cheeks you wanna come help us?"

Both Derek and John looked over and Derek's brow rose, "Excuse me?"

"I wasn't talking to you, but you can come help too, handsome."

Derek smirked and looked at the Sheriff to see another tinge of red on the older man's face, "Looks like you have you're own personal _Lolita_."

"Stuff it Hale." John said as he walked over to the two teens.

Derek had to bite his cheek to keep the smile off of his face as he followed after the older man. The group grabbed their things and took to one of the trails that led through the campgrounds. John took up the head position, with Stiles and Derek each holding a handle on the cooler and Lydia bringing up the rear. If any of the males had turned around during their near forty minute trek through the woods they would have seen a wicked smile on the redheads face as she ogled all three's backsides.

When they came upon an old Oak with a faded red arrow painted on it John headed off the trail.

"Uh, Dad, you're going the wrong way." Stiles said, as he paused and looked to Derek and Lydia.

"Nope. I know what I'm doing." John turned back to the others and smiled, "Trust your old man."

Stiles smiled and shrugged his shoulders, moving forward, making Derek follow or else lose his hold on the cooler. Lydia just readjusted her pack and followed after her boys.

It was about another thirty minutes of walking, but it was well worth it when the trio walked through a couple of Bir Trees and right into a slightly grassy clearing next to a quietly flowing river. The sun getting ready to set over the mountain, a hint of a purple-pink sky, and some sparrows swooping down and singing just completed the tranquility of the scene before them.

"This is..." Stiles started, "Beautiful." Lydia finished.

"See, your old man has a few secrets up his sleeve."

Lydia walked up to the Sheriff, "If I help you take your shirt off will they just spill out?" She smiled coyly as the older man blushed again and turned away grumbling.

Happy with herself, Lydia took her pack off and placed it at her feet. Stiles and Derek walked up to her and placed the cooler on her other side and took off their own packs. "Uh, yeah, what's with you and flirting with my Dad!" Stiles half-whispered.

Lydia glanced over her shoulder at John Stillinski and smiled, "Just getting my foot in the door." She turned back to Stiles and whispered, "Remember what I said at lunch the other day?"

"Yeah." Stiles said suspiciously.

"Well, on the way over here Jackson got upset about me breaking off plans with him to spend time with you. I reminded him of how he's done it to me pretty much the whole of our 'relationship' and that he could wait for me for once. He said some things and I broke it off with him. I am a free agent as of a few hours ago. While I plan on staying single until after I graduate College, I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a head start on something that could turn into a forever."

"With my Dad?"

Lydia nodded and blushed, "Yeah. He's a good guy, who more than likely, knows how to treat a woman and is super hot. Plus I've had like, the biggest crush on him since I was fourteen and he comes with his own handcuffs. So I wouldn't have to go buy some when we get to the kink-" "Don't finish that!" Stiles half yelled, earning a confused look from his dad, who had started to put his tent up.

"I think I like this turn of events." Derek chuckled and slung his arm over his boy's shoulder, "I guess I don't have to worry about Malibu Barbie stealing you away then."

"Derek. Shut up."

"Why is it always Malibu Barbie? Why can't I be like Nuclear Physicist Barbie?"

"Okay. Nuclear Physicist Barbie."

"Thank you."

The Wolf just smiled and gave his boy's shoulder a squeeze, "I'm gonna go get some firewood. Good Luck with all of this."

Stiles watched as Derek walked towards the woods and called to his retreating back, "Sure, leave and let me deal with this on my own why don't ya!"

"Where's Hale going?" John asked from where he was no kneeling on the ground, tying his tent to the stake.

"He's gonna go get firewood," Stiles said, then whispered, "and probably to go die of laughter over the fact that my former-flame-now-self-appointed-bff has the hots for my dad."

"Aw, sweetheart," Lydia smiled and patted his cheek, "...call me mom."

"Agh!" Stiles cried out and moved away from the laughing redhead, mumbling something about the unfairness of it all and milf's.

By the time Derek got back to the campsite, two of the tents were up, with both the Sheriff and Lydia sitting on a log and watching comically as Stiles flailed with his own tent.

He walked over to the duo and dropped the wood by the Sheriff's feet, "How long you gonna let him keep trying?"

"Not too much longer." John smirked as he lifted a water bottle to his mouth and took a drink.

"Why don't you go help him pitch his tent Derek."

The Sheriff sprayed water out of his mouth and started coughing. Lydia gave a quick smirk to Derek before she started patting John in the middle of his back, rubbing soothingly up and down, as she did.

"I shouldn't have any problem with that. You okay Sheriff?" Derek asked, smirking.

John glared at the younger man and cough-growled at the remark, as Derek walked over to give Stiles a hand with his tent. Turning to Lydia he scowled, "You're encouraging this?"

"Well, yeah." Lydia said, as she continued to rub the older man's back. "Why wouldn't I?"

"He's too old for Stiles."

Lydia frowned, "He's twenty-four. That's seven years, it's not too bad. Besides, Stiles is old enough to make his own decisions and has. You should know that by now. I think I've seen you yelling at him for his reckless behavior a few dozen times or so since the school year started. He's a teenage boy in lust, let him have his fun."

John grunted and glanced over at his son and Hale. The elder was laughing after just witnessing Stiles get smacked in the chest with a wayward pole from his tent. Stiles rubbed his chest before getting a wicked gleam in his eye and took the pole, whacking the older man on the ass with it. Derek stopped his laughter and rubbed at his backside before making a move to grab stiles, who tried to maneuver out of the way, but was unsuccessful. Resulting in Hale wrapping his arms tight around Stiles waist and hauling his son up in the air. Stiles' eyes practically bugged out of his head, but the smile on his face was big and carefree.

John sighed, his boy did look happy...and so did Derek for that matter. The last known Hale seemed to always have a permanent scowl and harsh demeanor after the tragic loss of his whole family. Hell, Judson Hale, Derek's father, had been one of John's closest friends for a long time and his wife, Chloe, had practically fed him and Stiles after his own wife had passed.

"They do look happy, huh."

"Yup."

John sighed, "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Lydia smiled, her hand had stopped rubbing his back and was now just resting comfortably on his left shoulder, wrapped around the older man. "Nope, but you do have to respect it."

John turned and glanced at the red head, "You know, when I heard you were coming with us today I was dead set on tryin' to fix you up with Stiles. Considering he loved you for a long time, I was hoping I could remind him of that to get him away from Hale, but this little conversation we just had shows me that maybe you've got a little more maturity on my boy and it would be mean of me to do that to you."

Lydia blushed, "He's more mature than you know Sheriff. He just hides it well. Besides, even if you had tried to go through with your little plan, it wouldn't have worked. I'm more like Stiles than you think."

John's eyes got big, "Wait...are you...you know?...a lesbian?"

The red head chuckled, amusement written all over her face, "No," she leaned in close and whispered in John's ear, "I'm into older men too."

The Sheriff jumped away at the whispered words and pink stained his cheeks as Lydia got up and walked over to her boys, "Honestly children. Do you need a woman to do everything for you?"

Both Derek and Stiles looked affronted as Lydia came their way and had the tent up within moments. She beamed proudly at their duel looks of annoyance, before Stiles decide to open his mouth and insert his foot with a smart remark that had him in a headlock from the pinup girl.

John sighed and looked to the heavens, "Save me from youth."

Derek smiled to himself as he got started on a small fire pit. He glanced to his left at Stiles and John, watching for a brief moment as they setup their fishing rods and the tackle box down by the river. Stiles was rubbing at the red mark Lydia had left around his neck and grumbling about the injustice of being a man of noble means and not hitting a woman.

He looked to the right and saw Lydia sitting on the ground, leaning up against the log she had sat on earlier with the Sheriff. She was sipping at her water and watching Stillinski Sr. with a slight longing. Derek could hear her heart rate accelerate as her eyes looked over the older man, her face however, gave away nothing.

Derek turned back to the pit, working on stacking the logs in a pyramid when some whispered words reached his ears, "I have a chance right?"

He was a little surprised as unsure words left the mouth of the normally outspoken woman. He didn't know why she was asking him, but he took a moment before answering honestly, "With Dudley Do-Right?...Yeah, you have as good a chance as anyone else, but you should really wait till your older like you were telling Stiles earlier. If you tried anything more than flirting this soon, you might end up hurting both John and Stiles."

Lydia turned grey eyes onto the Alpha, "Don't worry. I don't plan on doing anything until after I'm through with College, but...I might need a little favor until then."

"And I owe you one?"

"Considering I decided not to date your boy early on in high school when I realized how cute, smart, and funny he was and went for someone a little more pleasing to the eye than mind?...Yes, you do because then you'd be pining after my boy and Stiles is so fiercely loyal, you know he wouldn't have left me even if he felt any kind of pull towards you."

Derek couldn't say anything to nay-say her because he knew she was right. If Lydia and Stiles had been dating well before this whole Peter thing had popped up, he wouldn't have gotten the chance to mean more to Stiles than maybe a friend or silent protector. "So because you were like most high school girls and was as shallow as a puddle, I _owe_ you a favor?"

"That's about the gist of it."

"What's the favor?"

Lydia smiled and turned back to watch the father-son duo, "Don't worry, it's something simple. Especially for a big, strong manly wolf like yourself." She cocked her head to the side and watched the Sheriff bend over to pick up a worm that had fallen out of his fingers and she smiled, "I want you to watch over whats mine. I already know from Allison that both Stiles and Steve plan on going to the community college two towns over, so he'll be back for weekends and holidays. I assume you'll be getting an apartment out there to be closer to Stiles, so you can be my ears when the sheriff checks in on his son and my eyes when you guys come back to Beacon Hills. I'm going to be all the way over at Harvard, so I'll only be able to come for breaks to work on weakening his defenses. Just make sure no bimbo decides she wants whats not hers."

"You're pretty possessive for someone that's technically not yours?"

"So are you." She countered, "I know you and Stiles haven't done the horizontal tango yet, but that doesn't stop you from going all 'Me, Derek, Stiles, Mine'," Lydia said in a mock Tarzan voice, "so why should I let it stop me."

Derek grunted, "You do know he's a grown man and can do whatever or whoever he wants. How am I supposed to stop him from dating?"

"I'm sure you and Stiles can come up with something. So can you do this for me?" Her grey eyes turned to his and silently pleaded with him.

"I guess I can look after your man for awhile. Try and persuade him away from anyone who's interested."

Lydia jumped up and squeezed Derek around the shoulders in a brief hug, "Thanks."

Then she moved back to the log to continue watching the father son duo unsuccessfully catch dinner for the group. Derek in the meantime had gotten the fire up and going strong. He sat next to Lydia on the log and watched with her for some time, as both men caught algae and sticks.

"At this rate we're never going to eat."

Derek laughed, "Do I need to go save dinner?"

Lydia turned to the alpha with a pleading look in her eyes, "Yes, please, I'd like to eat sometime this century."

Derek smiled and headed over to the river. He stood next to Stiles for a silent moment, "So...Lydia and I were wondering when dinner was going to be?"

"Shut up." Stiles grumbled, then smirked as his line got a pull, "Dude! I think I got one!" He said excitedly as he started to reel in his line. "Come on! Yeah, this must be a big one!"

Lydia came rushing over at Stiles excited yelp and watched, bemused, as Stile pulled out a rather large stick.

"Wow, that's a whopper, man." Said Derek.

"Biggest 'fish' I've ever seen." Smirked John.

"Stiles I'm impressed. Not only can you snag big wood on land but also by sea."

Derek's cheeks tinged pink at the innuendo, the Sheriff groaned and rolled his eyes, and Stiles just turned to Lydia and smirked, "Like you'd know."

Lydia stuck her tongue out at him, then eyed Derek. Her eyes perusing him from head to toe, "Oh, I'm pretty sure I'm right."

Derek coughed, "Right, well, if you two are done not catching anything how about letting a proffessional have a go."

"By all means Hale, if you think you can do better than get to it." John said as he reeled in his own line, then held out his rod out to the other man. Derek just looked at him before kneeling to the ground and unlacing his boots. He took his socks off, stood, then took off his leather jacket, which he handed to Stiles, along with his shirt. He then rolled up his jeans to the knee and made his way into the river. When he got to about halfway in he stopped and looked down at his feet, concentrating on the rippling water. After around ten minutes, the three on the bank got bored with just watching.

"Derek!" Stiles yelled. Derek gave his head a slight nod to let Stiles know that he was listening. "The fish aren't going to just swoon out of the water cause you're standing there with your shirt off."

Derek smirked and put a finger to his lips.

"Did you just shush me?"

Derek sent a small glare Stiles way before continuing to watch the water. He slowly bent over and carefully placed his arms in the water, trying not to disturb the calm of the river. Under the water he formed his hands into a loose circle and waited.

John went to ask Stiles what his boyfriends deal was when suddenly Derek's body tensed and he swung his arms up and out of the river. In his hands, being held in place by his slightly elongated fingernails, was one of the biggest Big-Mouthed Bass the Sheriff had ever seen.

Derek had the biggest, cockiest smile on his face, "Catch."

He tossed the Bass towards the bank and right at Lydia. The redhead's hands shot out automatically and she caught the fish, just barely.

Lydia was stunned. The fish's mouth was opening and closing and his inky black eyes watched her. When the woman realized what she was staring at, her eyes went wide and she screamed. "Eew!" She pushed the fish into the Sheriff's chest and grabbed up the back of Stiles' flannel over-shirt, wiping her slimy hands on the material. "Where's my Purell!" She screamed as she made her way to her pack.

Derek shot an amused look to the two men on the bank, "Want me to get another one?"

Stillinski Sr. just looked at the fish in his hands, amazed, "I think this one will do us."

Derek still had that smirk on his face as he came out of the river. As he walked onto the bank, his arms wrapped around Stiles waist and he pulled the teen's body tightly to his, "What was that about the fish not swooning?"

"So I was wrong oh mighty fish-whisperer."

Derek nipped at Stiles' neck before placing a quick kiss there and then turned to John, "Since I caught it, you can cook it."

John just grunted and headed over to the campfire, where he proceeded to descale and de-bone the Big-Mouth Bass.

Derek grabbed up his boots and socks in his right hand while he kept his left arm firmly wrapped around Stiles' waist.

"Did I just redeem myself for the condom remark, you think?"

"Not a chance." Stiles scoffed and wrapped his own arm around his wolf's waist.

**A/N: Okay, so this is where I ended it. Sorry if it's a weird spot, but after consulting with my sis, she said it was a good spot to end on a happy note cause mucho drama is coming up next. So I ended it with a happy note. **

**As always, reviews welcomed, but not mandatory. ****:-)**


	7. Well I Can Barely Breathe

**DISCLAIMER: I Do Not own Teen Wolf (unless you count Seasons 1 & 2...in the future also 3) and if I did Derek and Stiles would be locked in a room for the majority of it so they can get the UST out of their systems.**

**A/N: I have no excuses for how long it took me to get this out. All I can do is apologize and hope that you all don't hate me too much. **

Kate cringed as she stepped in yet another mud-hole, for about the hundredth time that night, getting even more crud on one of her most comfortable pair of hunting boots.

She fucking hated Werewolves.

They were the cause of her now traipsing through the woods with her guns, instead of sitting at home, 4500 miles away, all snug in her bed, in her own Werewolf free city. Werewolf free thanks to her, of course, she smiled inwardly.

She had been surprised that it had taken no time at all to dispose of that town's Alpha and had had the woman's pack scattering like cockroaches. That Alpha had been weak and from her weakness had followed the weakness of her pack.

Eventually, they would find and kill every last Werewolf on this planet and soon she wouldn't be out in the middle of Nowhere, California knee-deep in gunk, searching for overgrown poodles.

The brunette moved through the woods as cautiously and quietly as she could and cursed at this new Alpha that had arrived on the scene. Murdering people left and right and becoming a thorn in her family's side.

Her brother had been desperate for some decent help to catch this particular baddie and had called her. She was all for her brother taking care of his own business and was going to tell him kindly where to shove it when he had casually mentioned the return of Derek Hale.

No twisting of her arm was needed for that decision. She was packed, ready, and in her car an hour later. On the road and ready to finish a job she had started three years earlier.

She should have never left without finishing but circumstances had come up with her father and she had to leave before she could take care of Derek and his sister Laura. She was a bit disappointed that

this new Alpha had taken care of the female Hale for her.

She would have liked to have seen who would have won the final showdown from all the spars they had had in school.

Thinking back, to when she had had to endure High-school, aside from being the new kid in town, all of the other girls had been either too jealous or just too...feminine for her to ever consider hanging out with and all the men had just wanted to get into her pants. So Kate didn't really have anyone in High-school to be even semi-friendly with.

Then she had met Laura Hale.

The moment their eyes locked, something had just clicked inside and she knew that the auburn haired girl would fill that void. Even if the only interactions they had were heated debates in the classrooms, verbal spars in the lunch room, and 'accidental' hits in gym class. They all made up for her lack of friends and that had suited Kate just fine. It had all changed, for the better as far as Kate was concerned, in a day with a particularly challenging game of Dodgeball their coach had insisted upon.

Both Laura and Kate had been picked as Team Captains and as soon as the teams were divided the carnage had begun. Both girls had been ruthless in their attempts to get the other out and many of the other girls had been sacrificed. When it was three on one, Kate's team to Laura, was when the dynamics of their basic highschool rivalry had escalated into a till-the-death type of rivalry.

Kate and her two teammates had thrown the last of their balls at a lone Hale, only to be disappointed when all three balls missed their target. Laura, in an obvious moment of freedom, had forgotten herself and allowed her eyes to show red. The older Hale had then smiled ferally and took them all out one by one with a fierceness that could only have come from a Werewolf.

After that game, Kate had taken the old adage of '_friends close, enemies closer_' to heart and had gone after the final bell to congratulate Laura on her 'win', which had led her to meeting Derek and well, Kate had lived Happily Ever After.

Voices broke through and into her train of thought and Kate stopped, glancing past a couple trees, Kate caught a sudden glimpse of a fire's light only about 10 yards out. As quietly and as quickly as she could, she made her way over towards the light and was pleased to see a few campers sitting around a campfire. They looked like they were teenagers so she doubted any of them were the Alpha, but they might be Betas in training. She put on her best fake smile and walked out from behind the trees that had been concealing her and right into their campsite, "Hello there."

A burp broke the silence of the after dinner haze of Camp Hale. Three pairs of eyes looked over in amusement and surprise at the only female in their party.

"Excuse me, but that was _the_ best fish I've ever had." Lydia smiled and sighed in contentment, leaning back against the log and John's leg, which the Sheriff was trying really hard to pretend wasn't happening.

Derek laughed and nuzzled at Stiles' neck while his hands rubbed soothingly over his boy's stomach. The older man was sitting on the ground, leaning up against the other log in their campsite and he had Stiles tucked snug against his chest and in-between his legs. Stiles' hands meanwhile were resting on Derek's thighs and his eyes were closed, a small tinge of pink on his cheeks and a smile on his face.

Derek's wolf was almost purring like a cat it was so happy.

Needing to keep his hands busy so he wasn't tempted to murder Hale for touching, John took out his knife and grabbed up a stray piece of wood. "So where'd you learn to fish like that Hale?"

The leg Lydia's head was resting on shifted when John leaned over to grab up the wood, causing the red-head to lose her pillow at the motion. The Sheriff let out an inaudible sigh that she wasn't touching him anymore when Lydia just scooted closer and repositioned herself to the way she was before. Her head once more resting comfortably against the older man's thigh. John's knife bit a little harder than necessary into the wood and Lydia's lips quirked up into a little smile.

Derek tried not to laugh as he answered Stillinski Sr.'s question. "My Dad. He learned it from his dad, my Paw-Paw, and my Paw-Paw learned it from his dad."

"You called you're Grandpa Pa-Pa? That's so cute." Lydia squee'ed. "I called mine Grandpa Alf."

Stiles cracked an eye open and smirked, as he asked, "Is that because he was short, hairy, and liked to eat cats?"

"Yes." Lydia dead panned then added, "I think you'd of liked him Derek."

Stiles let out a loud laugh, Derek shot her a glare, and John just looked confused.

Choosing to ignore the estrogen of the group, Derek asked Stiles, "What'd you call your's?"

Stiles wiped away the laughing tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes and looked back at his...boyfriend-lover-partner-mate, "Pop-Pop. He was the epitome of awesome."

John smiled at Stiles. "Yeah. My old man made a pretty cool Grandfather, but he was a strict S.O.B. while growing up. I'm much more lenient when it comes to you."

Stiles sat up, wide-eyed. "I object!"

"Excuse you?"

"You're always yelling at me for stuff I haven't even done yet."

"That's cause I know what you're thinking."

Derek and Lydia laughed.

"I still object."

"Stiles...Exhibit A is sitting right behind you. My old man certainly wouldn't have let me date a presumed murderer." John went back to his carving. "Not to mention all the crazy sh—crap that's happened lately that I've found you loitering around. That school animal attack, for one." He pointed his knife in Stiles and Derek's direction. "Would your Father have let—he gestured to the two of them-this slide?"

Stiles felt Derek's muscles tense under his hand, his family would always be a touchy subject, Stiles knew. "He would've understood about Stiles and I. As long as I was happy and healthy and careful, he would've listened to me and understood. Just like how you are with Stiles."

"Yeah, maybe."

The Sheriff went back to his whittling and a brief tense silence reigned over the camp, before John let loose an exhale. "I'm sorry...about your family. Your father, he was a good man, helped me out a bit over the years that I knew him."

John looked up, catching the younger man's eye, "He helped me out with a lot of lost hikers when I was first elected Sheriff. We kind of became friends and when...when Stiles' mom died, he got me through some tough times. Your Mother...she was always sending over food. Came over once or twice to watch Stiles too when I needed a minute to myself."

"I don't remember that." Stiles said, confused.

"Those first few weeks after your Mom passed, you slept a lot, because you didn't...you couldn't stop crying. You cried yourself raw. I think those first few weeks were the only times the house had been quiet the whole time we've lived there."

Lydia and Derek chuckled and Stiles pinched the arm Derek had wrapped around his stomach.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember, but she was there." John looked back at Derek, a frown marring his face, "What happened to them was-John squeezed his knife and his knuckles turned white, he shook his head-they were good people. I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Derek was quiet, content, his arms around Stiles. "I didn't kill Laura."

"If I had thought you did, you'd be in a holding cell right now and not wrapped around my son like an octopus."

Stiles blushed and asked, "Then why'd you arrest him a month ago?"

"Technically, I took him in for questioning. He wasn't arrested."

"Sure felt like I was."

"The handcuffs were for my Deputies benefit. He was adamant that it was you, so I placated him." John smirked, "After we let you go for lack of everything he was really pissed. He still thinks you had something to do with it. It's driving him crazy, so thanks for that."

"He was already crazy." Stiles said, as he rolled his eyes.

"You know your sister saved my life once." Lydia piped up out of nowhere.

"Hello, left field." Stiles stated as he looked over at the redhead.

Derek's eyes caught hers and his arms tightened on Stiles, "When?"

"I was ten or eleven, I think. One day after school I had decided to try and take on that big downhill over on Knott Street."

All three men looked at her like she was crazy and Lydia's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Yeah, yeah, I know, silly."

"Idiotic you mean. Scott and I haven't even been brave enough to try that one and we're manly men."

"Manly?"

"Shut it Hale."

Lydia and John laughed before the redhead continued, "Anyways, I went down it faster than I should have and the brakes on my bike wouldn't work when I tried to slow myself down. Then, I saw this big old red truck coming from the opposite way, he wasn't stopping and I couldn't. I barely had enough time to scream when I was snatched from my seat. My bike skidded and tumbled right in front of the truck, it wrecked. I remember, this- Lydia's right arm would around her middle- unnaturally tight grip around my stomach and I looked over to see this girl. She was breathing really hard, like she had run full out for miles and there were these tight lines around her eyes. She asked me if I was okay and then she said some things to the truck driver that I don't even want to repeat. She took me to the hospital and stayed with me till my parents came. I had three bruised ribs and a long ugly looking bruise going across my stomach where her arm had wrapped around me. I found out later from one of the nurses who she was."

Derek smiled as she finished, "I remember that. She came home with a broken arm and a story about some stupid daredevil kid."

Lydia squeeked, "A broken arm?"

"Yeah. From the force of her grabbing you at such a high rate of speed. It broke Laura's arm in two places. Our Dad was so pissed, but he didn't stay mad when he found out the whole story."

"She never even acted like she was hurt!"

"Well, that was my sister for you. She could've been bleeding out and she wouldn't have let on to how much pain she was in."

"So, what's your story Derek?" John asked. "What happened to you after you left Beacon Hills?"

Stiles took note that this was the first time his dad had actually called Derek by his first name and counted this little trip down memory lane as a small victory.

"Nothing much to tell. After the...fire, Laura and I traveled around a bit, then we went our separate ways for a year. She told me she was coming back to Beacon to sort out what happened to our family, said she needed closure and before I could meet her here she was-" Derek trailed off, his ears twitched and his body tensed.

Stiles turned to look at his Wolf's face and saw worry, agitation, and confusion in them. "I have to go." Derek said tersely, before pushing Stiles away and getting up. Stiles scrambled up after him and caught his arm before he could walk off and into the woods.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, face questioning and worried.

Derek turned and gave Stiles a tight hug, whispering in the younger man's ear. "I heard something not too far off. I need to go check it out, it doesn't feel right. I'll be right back." Rough lips pressed a kiss to Stiles' cheek and then to his lips, before Derek turned and disappeared into the night.

"Where's he going?" John asked, who had stood at Derek's quick exit.

Stiles didn't turn around, a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. "He needed a minute. I don't think he really grieved for his sister. He'll be back later." _I hope,_ Stiles thought, as he turned and walked back to the camp. His dad nodded and sat back down to continue his whittling, but Lydia's grey eyes went right through the excuse and she gave him a worried look.

Derek was about 20 yards away from his pack, listening intently for the noise he had heard before, the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking. He moved slowly, ears attuned to the noises of the wood, but he didn't hear any far away gun shots or any other noises.

In fact it was a little too quiet for normal.

The other animals knew something just as dangerous as himself was around and had made themselves scarce.

A breeze floated past Derek and as it did it brought a scent so undeniably familiar that Derek's nostrils flared and his eyes bled red. He growled low and deep, then took off running in the direction the scent had come from.

The scent of one Kate Argent.

Kate made mock gagging noises as she left behind the third campsite she had found that night. A sickeningly sweet couple, whom were on their second honeymoon and who had thought it would be oh-so-romantic to sleep under the stars.

_Puh-lease,_ Kate scoffed.

A twig snapped to her right and Kate grabbed her gun quickly from her hip, cocking it and aiming right between the eyes of...a dumbass.

"Whoa! It's just me! Don't shoot!" Jason, one of her brothers lackeys whispered in defense, his arms raised in surrender.

Kate glared and lowered her gun. "Idiot. I should shoot you here and now if you're going to be a noisy little shit. Fucking best back-up my ass. My brother is going to get an earful when I get back."

Jason's blue eyes scowled, "You're just one big bucket of sunshine ain't ya. So did you find anything?"

"Why, yes, I found a shitload of Were's and took them all down with one tranquilizer." Kate rolled her eyes at the ass-hat her brother had demanded go with her.

"Damn, woman, you don't have to be so sarcastic."

"Oh, shut the fu-" A long, deep howl filled the night, shutting Kate up mid sentence.

A sickening, happy smile blossomed on her face. _Oh yes_, she knew this howl. The beautiful brunette turned and looked at Jason. The blonde haired man shivered at the murderously happy look on the Argent's face and backed up a few steps. "Well, looks like an old friend of mine wants to play. Let's move." Kate took off running and Jason let out the breath he was holding as he followed after the psychotic hunter.

Derek was high up in a tree, his eyes and hearing trained on the expanse of foliage around him, waiting for the bitch who stole his life. He had run over another 150 yards after hearing her shrill voice screaming at someone. Even though they were over five hundred feet away, he was a little mad at himself for letting her get this close to his mate and his pack. It was unacceptable and his wolf wasn't too happy.

He needed to take care of this problem before she got any closer to what was _his_.

Derek's mind raced, trying to think of the best possible way to go about this. He'd have to take out the male with her first and then deal with Kate...but he needed them to come to him.

Not thinking twice, Derek threw his head back and let out a howl, telling his prey 'here I am, come and get me'.

His ears twitched as he heard Kate's response and he could sense the smile that must have been on her face as she spoke. The sound of running footsteps pounding on the dirt towards his location, got Derek up and into action. Jumping down, the Alpha took off running towards a giant Oak tree he had come across earlier. The clearing surrounding the base of the tree would be the perfect place for the encounter Derek wanted to happen.

When he reached the thick trunk, he clawed up to the first thick available branch, about 15 feet up, and gave another long beckoning howl. Kate and her companion's footsteps trampled dirt and twigs as they raced through the woods, coming closer to him with every second.

Derek's eyes had died down to an electric blue, it would do no good for Kate to see his scarlet colored eyes and know he had moved up in the world.

Some squirrels scurried up a tree next to his just as the duo emerged from a cluster of trees in front of the little clearing. Derek's claws tensed and his nails curled into the bark of the tree. Anticipation of tearing through the flesh of the one who had taken his family from him coursing through his belly.

Kate had her gun in her hand and so did her partner.

Derek smiled in satisfaction as he heard the fast erratic thumping of the man's heart. Apparently, he wasn't as tough as the Argents considering the scent of fear that was dripping off of the man.

Kate walked slowly towards his tree, her brown eyes searching the area around her. The man was slower to move, but when he did Derek was pleased to see that he was moving too right under the branch the wolf was perched on.

"Why'd we stop? He's not here."

"I know this Werewolf. He's close."Kate had the tranquilizer gun held up and ready to use, while Jason's heartbeat slowed down and as the minutes ticked by the blonde haired man started to lose his fear and only to gain irritation in it's place. In his agitation, the apprentice hunter lowered his weapon and walked right into the position Derek was hoping for.

"Argent, he's not here."

"Shut it Barrett!" Kate hissed as a the tiniest snap of noise to her left caught her attention. She swung around and headed towards a thicker patch of trees. Ignoring her irritable companion's scoff.

When Kate turned, Derek made his move and jumped from the tree, landing right behind the younger hunter. He placed his hand over the man's mouth and his arm locked around the man's throat. Blocking the flow of air. Jason's eyes went wide and he tried to kick out and get Kate's attention but Derek picked him up so the man's feet wouldn't make a noise on the ground to alert the Hunter.

Barrett's heartbeat slowed down to an almost non existent beat and that's when Derek removed his hand from the man's mouth and placed the unconscious man back behind another tree and out of sight.

He chanced a glance around the trunk of the tree he was now behind and saw Kate's body hidden a little behind the Oak he had jumped from.

"It was just a fox. Maybe you're right and he's not-" Kate turned and saw that Jason was no longer behind her, "-Barrett?"

Derek moved back behind the tree and moved back along the treeline. His steps were sure and quick, so as not to alert the Hunter to his presence until he wanted it.

"Jason you idiot! Get out here right now!" Kate hissed.

A twig snapped to her right, then her left, then behind her, Kate twisted her head at every slight sound. Trying to follow the movement of who was stalking her, playing with her. She would not let Derek get the best of her.

A rustle directly behind her had her swinging around, gun drawn, ready to fire, when a sharp pain in her neck made her drop her gun.

Her right hand grasped Derek's wrist, while her left reached for the knife she always kept at her waist. His electric blue eyes pierced into her brown and he snarled, tightening his grip, nails digging into her throat.

The Bowie Knife was in her hand and she brought it up, plunging it deep into Derek's abdomen. He howled in pain and with his right hand grabbed her left wrist before she could twist the knife in and pulled. It came out of him with a sick little squirting sound as it was pulled free.

Derek squeezed Kate's wrist until hir grip on the knife lessened and it drop to the ground below them, landing in a small pool of Derek's blood.

As he looked into her eyes and saw the blazing inferno of his family's home in their depths, Derek lifted Kate off the ground and- Bang! Bang!

Suddenly his side and shoulder were pricked with pain.

He became dizzy. His eyes flashing between blue and green as he tried to keep them open and keep his grip on Kate.

As his vision blurred, his grip became lax and he let go of his hold around Kate's neck.

His prey fell to the ground, gasping and drawing in air, her hands holding onto her throat as she realized how close she had come to death.

Derek growled and reached for her again as another loud pop sounded through the air and another sharp prick of pain hit him in the chest.

He fell to ground.

The last thing he saw was the sight of black boots walking towards him, a small chuckle and the voice of the other hunter say, "I'm not that easy to put down mutt."

Jason smirked, the tranquilizer gun lowered to his side and a drugged-up Werewolf at his feet. Kate was on the ground, hands on her throat and shock in her eyes. He would remember that look on her face for the rest of the night.

_The Argents may be good_, he thought, _but the Barrett Family Line was better_.

Stiles had been playing 'Go-Fish' with Lydia while they waited for Derek to return when he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. His cards fluttered to the ground as he got to his feet and ran to the just outside of the camp.

He barely made it, falling to his knees as the contents of his stomach came hurtling out.

A hand was suddenly rubbing up and down his spine. Lydia's manicured nails lightly scratching at his back in a soothing manner.

"You okay son?" His father asked from somewhere behind them.

"No." He dry-heaved a few times before he was able to calm down some.

He looked up into Lydia's grey eyes as tears leaked from his eyes and ran down his face, "Something's wrong...Derek."

Lydia's eyes widened and they both turned to look out into the forest.

**A/N: I want to send an extremely BIG HUG and shout out to every single one of you have reviewed and every single on of you who has read but not reviewed. I really love that you guys like my story. It makes me happy in my heart and in my face. Also, I am going to answer some review questions down here, only some of the more recent ones though. So if you asked me a question read on, if you didn't well than I hope it was worth the wait and as always Reviews welcomed, but not mandatory. :-)**

**Black-Misty-Sky you mentioned that you liked my little end note up above about Reviewing and I wanted to thank you. I feel exactly the same. **

**NJFerrel, Maybe I'll mention something in the Epilogue when I get that far but for right now I'm just trying to focus on Derek and Stiles. I get sidetracked way to easily in stories and want to try to keep this one on track.**

**LittleBoyRed, I have you're one-shot written on paper it just needs to be typed out and polished up a bit. :-)**

**Phoenix8351, It will definitely be a happy ending. I am a happy ending kind of gal and have a hard time writing anything else. If this spoils anything for someone I'm sorry. **

**FallenAngelicWolf, I've been playing with the idea of a Werewolf Stiles, but I do believe Stiles is perfect just the way he is as a human. :-)**

**OffWithMyHeads, you didn't ask a question but I loved your review. It kind of made me blush and smile all day after I read it, you flawless creature you...lol**

**Anonymous Santana Black Lydia will be staying protective of her new BFF. Always. **

**RavensTalon permission granted. Lol.**


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